Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Maurizio Sarri to make his big decision over Andreas Christensen and David Luiz


It's easy for Chelsea fans to get carried away after the Tottenham Hotspur defeat and think that changes need to be made all over the park.

However, one question that has been under a big debate is that of David Luiz and whether or not he should remain as the centre-back next to Antonio Rudiger for the Blues.

Now might be the time though for Christensen to take the Brazilian's place in the league and Maurizio Sarri could well make that decision against Fulham or Wolves.

But what are the positives and the negatives to the two defenders?

David Luiz

The positives


The main positive with Luiz this season has been with the ball at his feet, and at the moment he has one of the highest passing stats in the Premier League so far. The Brazilian has completed 1,050 passes in the league, the fourth highest on the list.

Part of Sarri's system is making sure that the ball is recycled well by the defence and playing out from the back is a massive part of that, with the two centre-backs getting the ball off Kepa Arrizabalaga and playing from there.

Luiz is one of the best in the league at playing from the back with his calm persona and ability, while he also has a great amount of skill playing the longer balls over the top, spreading the play and finding the wingers with great accuracy.

The negatives


The defending stat is a startling one with the Brazilian having been at fault for seven of the 11 Premier League goals against the Blues, and it could have been more.

Luiz has never really been the best defender throughout his career, but his other qualities have really been the overriding figure that have somewhat put that to the back of their mind. However, this season those flaws have at times been highlighted, especially with Antonio Rudiger playing to a high level.

Sometimes switching off when in defensive mode as well, the lack of pace that Luiz has is also something of a concern, and with Marcos Alonso pushing forward there is at times too much space down the left for the opposition to exploit.

Andreas Christensen

The positives


Christensen really is the future of the Chelsea defence and there is a fear that if the Blues don't play him more regularly in the coming weeks then he is going to push for a move.

The 22-year-old has all the attributes to be a top centre-back, with excellent ability on the ball, good pace and decent in the tackle as well.

Comfortable in bringing the ball out from the back and has good recovery pace that would allow more cover to Alonso down the left.

The negatives


When Christensen has been given his chance this season then he hasn't really been putting in the best performances and next to Gary Cahill they have looked shaky at times.

The youngster has looked short of the form that got him the number one centre-back role last season under Antonio Conte, but some of that might come with the irregularity of playing as well.

He has started just Four Europa League matches and another two in the Carabao Cup, yet to make his first Premier League appearance of the season and could be short of confidence.
Share this article with your friends.

No comments:

Post a Comment