David Luiz is enjoying his extended run on borrowed time in Chelsea’s starting XI. How long will Maurizio Sarri wait before at least making Luiz earn his place?
Gary Cahill made his last appearance in the World Cup three days before Andreas Christensen made his. But because England stayed in Russia until the final weekend, Christensen has a two-week head start on Cahill in Maurizio Sarri’s depth chart. And because both players were actually at the World Cup, they are in the unusual role of watching Chelsea’s Premier League matches this season from the bench (Christensen) or a bar (Cahill).
David Luiz, meanwhile, continues to walk around with a horseshoe stuck up his trademark curly mane. Since Sarri took over at Stamford Bridge, Luiz has had more than enough lemonade to make up for being dealt an end to his international career.
Luiz’s summer of fortune started with the long-anticipated and – for Luiz – long-desired sacking of Antonio Conte. Maurizio Sarri was almost incidental to Luiz’s early July satisfaction. But it quickly grew as he recognized what a high value Sarri puts on age, experience and presence. Simply by being one of two centre-backs with sustained first-team experience at Stamford Bridge when Sarri arrived, Luiz all but had his place in the starting XI guaranteed.
Luiz’s easy rapport with Sarri surely helped matters in those early days. The Brazilian seems like an all-around relatable, easy-going guy in general. This meshed well with Sarri’s platform of kinder, gentler coaching, and further underscored the difference between Conte and Sarri, not to mention the relationship between Luiz and each coach.
Chelsea were already well into preseason when Andreas Christensen returned to the squad. Gary Cahill and the other Blues from the World Cup’s final four teams did not return until the weekend of the Community Shield. This left zero doubt in Sarri’s mind about who would start on the Premier League opening day.
Luiz benefited from Chelsea’s light opening schedule as much as the club itself. Regardless of opponent, the individual players and the XI as a collective were going to make mistakes and stumble in different directions as they adapted to Maurizio Sarri’s system. These adaptation mistakes patched over many of Luiz’s perennial short-comings. When everyone is toddling their way to victory, Luiz blends in much more than he would in a well-discipline unit. Add in two opponents from last year’s bottom half and an Arsenal even deeper in the throes of a managerial transition, and Luiz has the dual benefits of camouflage and an easy battlefield. Against those clubs even he will not make too many mistakes, but when he does, they blend in with everyone else’s.
Newcastle’s goal was his most obvious error yet. Despite Chelsea’s extreme amount of possession and passing, Luiz actually had fewer touches and fewer passes against Newcastle than he did in the first two games. Because he stayed deeper while Antonio Rudiger moved up against a Newcastle team that barely ventured beyond their own box, Luiz had very little to do. And for 82 minutes, this gave him his most secure match yet.
But Luiz hit on the one moment of the game where Newcastle posed any amount of danger to have the moment of the game that he has every game. He completely shut off as DeAndre Yedlin hit a cross in towards Joselu. Olivier Giroud can be partially forgiven for not playing to the whistle, as he did take an elbow to the head (one which he milked, though, allowing Yedlin to move past him into space). Luiz has no excuse.
A whistle may have caught his attention. But there was no whistle. Only a dead-eye cross and a header into the top corner.
Maurizio Sarri said it is more difficult for a defender “to play in my team after only 20 days of training.” This means David Luiz will almost certainly start against Bournemouth this weekend. Gary Cahill is showing little interest in taking a loan to Galatasaray, and is committed to fighting for his place in the team. Andreas Christensen has been characteristically quiet, but he will be angling for his return to the starting XI as well.
The international break will push Cahill and Christensen over the month mark of training time with Maurizio Sarri. The break will also spell the end of the post-pre-season. The Blues return to newly-promoted Cardiff and potentially rejuvenated West Ham (who defeated Chelsea last year, mind you) before facing Liverpool at the end of the month. They also will begin their Europa League and Carabao Cup campaigns. Their opponents will be much more stable, and mistakes will be much less forgivable.
Sooner or later, David Luiz will be found out. It may be more of a test of Maurizio Sarri to see if he is willing to change course after four games with such an experienced defender. The coach values much of what Luiz has on paper, but Sarri must judge by what he sees on the pitch. The confluence of difficult opponents and alternatives on the bench will eventually weigh against the Brazilian.
Even the horseshoe may not be enough to save him then.