Could we see the revival of David Luiz under Maurizio Sarri?
Published:
David Luiz would be forgiven for having a love-hate relationship with Chelsea these days.
He’s won over the fans since he re-signed for the club in 2016.
The Brazilian centre-back was instrumental in the West Londoner’s title win in 2016/17.
In 33 Premier League appearances the team claimed an average of 2.42 points with Luiz in the side.
But he was cast aside by former boss Antonio Conte last season.
Salvation from Sarri
Since Maurizio Sarri came into Chelsea this summer he has made a point of ensuring Luiz is firmly in his plans.
The former Napoli coach started the 31-year-old in the two most meaningful games of the season to date.
Manchester City may have outclassed a patchwork Chelsea in the Community Shield. But in the 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town on Saturday he looked at his composed best.
He had a 93.5% passing accuracy, only missing two of twelve long balls attempted, which is such a big part of his game.
Chelsea have a core group of young defenders including Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Ethan Ampadu and the recent Everton loanee Kurt Zouma.
So it’s important the likes of Luiz step up and are receptive to the new managers’ demands.
The way Sarri likes to play, coined ‘Sarri-ball’ or ‘Sarrismo’ in Italian quarters, suits the Brazilian’s style of play.
Comeback kid
Luiz has lost a lot of that ‘Playstation’ football naivety but has retained an air of poise and South American swagger.
Sarri has said the former Paris Saint-Germain man has ‘big future’ at club, dismissing any lingering rumours that he may be on the move.
Luiz has welcomed the warmth shown to him by the new manager saying; “He’s a great coach with a great philosophy. He’s passionate and we work every day on the details so I think he’s going to bring a lot of good things to Chelsea…” he told Goal reporters.
One of those ‘good things’ could be the return to form of the happy-go-lucky ‘geezer’ David Luiz.
Check out the latest Premier League odds here
All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication
