David Luiz

[CHOULO19 24,332]

This is EPIC:

[BOSS 372]

Surprised to see no posts about him today. He was absolutely brilliant as a midfielder. He really is a great midfielder he should starting in the double pivot from now on.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Anyone missing mikel?

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Surprised to see no posts about him today. He was absolutely brilliant as a midfielder. He really is a great midfielder he should starting in the double pivot from now on.

He had a great game, but it was still mixed in terms of his midfield future. He has the defensive skills to fit in the defensive part of the double pivot. He is excellent at intercepting passes, he's a strong tackler, he knows how to push people off the ball,and he's good in the air...but, he's still way too aggressive with his passing and his movement for that position. You don't necessarily have to be extremely conservative, but you need to be cautious which is not Luiz's strong point. As for the regista role, I don't see it. His passing and decision making are just not good enough. I'd definitely like to see him get some more time in the pivot because he's earned that but it's going to take a lot more than a couple of games against weak opposition to convince me that he's some sort of elite midfielder. (Remember how good he looked as a defender when he came over? We thought we had bought one of the top few defenders in the world and 10 games later, Ancelotti had benched him.)

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Luiz can replace Ramires in the pivot but not Mikel. We still need a proper holding mid, there will be much tougher opposition that he'll have to contend with.

[Corner 456]

He had a great game, but it was still mixed in terms of his midfield future. He has the defensive skills to fit in the defensive part of the double pivot. He is excellent at intercepting passes, he's a strong tackler, he knows how to push people off the ball,and he's good in the air...but, he's still way too aggressive with his passing and his movement for that position. You don't necessarily have to be extremely conservative, but you need to be cautious which is not Luiz's strong point. As for the regista role, I don't see it. His passing and decision making are just not good enough. I'd definitely like to see him get some more time in the pivot because he's earned that but it's going to take a lot more than a couple of games against weak opposition to convince me that he's some sort of elite midfielder. (Remember how good he looked as a defender when he came over? We thought we had bought one of the top few defenders in the world and 10 games later, Ancelotti had benched him.)

+1

But if Benitez/the Chelsea board is planning on moving Luiz to the holding role gradually then playing him there in games like this is a good way to improve him. I'm sure Benitez will go over the tapes with Luiz, analyze everything he did and point out everything he did wrong, how it can be fixed, etc.

I actually think he did a decent job of being more conservative with his play after Ramires came on. He just let everyone ahead of him run riot on Villa's defence and he set the tempo of the game pretty well.

[Jase 43,479]

As much as Luiz has done well in the pivot so far, we have gotta remember that he has played there only against Monterrey and Villa, no disrespect to them. They are not the toughest of oppositions and were pretty poor on the day we played them. No doubt Luiz has shown positives playing in that role but he needs to be tested against better quality oppositions first before we can officially say 'Luiz CAN play in the pivot'.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

+1

But if Benitez/the Chelsea board is planning on moving Luiz to the holding role gradually then playing him there in games like this is a good way to improve him. I'm sure Benitez will go over the tapes with Luiz, analyze everything he did and point out everything he did wrong, how it can be fixed, etc.

I actually think he did a decent job of being more conservative with his play after Ramires came on. He just let everyone ahead of him run riot on Villa's defence and he set the tempo of the game pretty well.

Absolutely agree with that. I think it was just because at that point, we were officially killing them and Luiz already had a goal and a lot of attack so he wanted all the other Brazilians to get forward and get their shots in Whatever it was, he was definitely a lot more subdued and conservative. I think before the Lampard/Ramires switch was made Luiz's passing percentage was around 79%. After that, I don't think he tried a single long ball and he ended up with I think 86% passing.

[Corner 456]

Absolutely agree with that. I think it was just because at that point, we were officially killing them and Luiz already had a goal and a lot of attack so he wanted all the other Brazilians to get forward and get their shots in Whatever it was, he was definitely a lot more subdued and conservative. I think before the Lampard/Ramires switch was made Luiz's passing percentage was around 79%. After that, I don't think he tried a single long ball and he ended up with I think 86% passing.

You're probably right. If so, it was nice of him. I like how much he cares about his teammates (a very under-rated quality in players).

He may have his faults, but I would miss him a lot if we were to sell him. I'm sure most Chelsea fans would too. When he was linked with Barca during the summer, even though I knew there was no shred of truth in it, I was still terrified we would sell him.

[OneMoSalah 8,810]

Luiz was good in the pivot today, but he won't be used there the whole time. I don't think hes disciplined enough to play there against the bigger teams so to speak but he can do a job against the smaller clubs.

[Jype 6,398]

Seven clean sheets in the league so far, Luiz has played 90 minutes in every single one of them. Bad at defending?

[Tomo 21,736]

Seven clean sheets in the league so far, Luiz has played 90 minutes in every single one of them. Bad at defending?

All the defensive stats are in his favour (compared to what they are when he doesn't play).

Being a little bit reckless on occasion's and being a full blown liability are two completely different things, Bramble, Ben Haim, they are liability's, Luiz is far from that.

[Milan 17,872]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6LTLwNTVuQ

Luiz is praying for Lucas to score the penalty. Beautiful! They are very good friends and he wanted him to score.

[Jase 43,479]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6LTLwNTVuQ

Luiz is praying for Lucas to score the penalty. Beautiful! They are very good friends and he wanted him to score.

Think everyone wanted him to score. Heck, even John Gregory - former Aston Villa manager - said he wanted him to score in commentary.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Just as I said, against smaller teams, mikel is not needed for protection. So that we can blow them away. But against top/physical sides, mikel would be needed for cover.

[mediator 2,026]

Just as I said, against smaller teams, mikel is not needed for protection. So that we can blow them away. But against top/physical sides, mikel would be needed for cover.

in that case, we could use the mikel + luiz partnership. We can also imagine a lot of possibilities with rambo, kdb, oscar, lampard

It's better having a lot of options than none.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

in that case, we could use the mikel + luiz partnership. We can also imagine a lot of possibilities with rambo, kdb, oscar, lampard

It's better having a lot of options than none.

Why not?? It Would please me if we find out our pivot problems can be solved with the players we have already.

[OneMoSalah 8,810]

Mikel is still the best player for the pivot guys.. Luiz has been good but hes no Mikel. Mikel's positioning is much better as is his tactical awareness