Why David Luiz is doing the right thing by staying at Chelsea

Chelsea defender David Luiz has signalled his intentions to stay at the club after admitting that he likes new manager Maurizio Sarri‘s playing style. The Brazilian fell down the pecking order under predecessor Antonio Conte, whose philosophy was a bit different to what the player generally prefers.

Luiz, who re-joined Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, is adamant to win more titles under Sarri and denied any speculations linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge. He endured an injury-ridden previous season, where the 31-year-old could only play 10 league games.

The Brazilian has played all of Chelsea’s pre-season games thus far under Sarri, which will make him confident ahead of an important season.

Here’s why the £120,000-a-week (source: Dailystar) defender has taken the right decision to stay put in west London and revive his somewhat derailed career.

Sarri’s playing style suiting him – Tactics

Sarri is quite intricate with his formations and tactics. A high-pressing game with short incisive passes is something the Italian excels in. As depicted in the image below, here’s how the manager plays his football in possession and while pressing higher up the pitch.

This will be the expected formation for Chelsea from the upcoming season, regardless of whether they are pressing higher up or playing out from the back gradually upwards. It’s where Luiz is more comfortable as a defender, picking out passes with the team more closely knit together and also making recovery runs if caught in the high-line.

He is a typical Brazilian defender who loves to make the ball talk along with usual defensive covering, which Sarri is known to prefer from his centre-backs. This is where the sync between the player and manager will work in Luiz’s favour in the near future.

Conclusion

Conte had a contrasting playing system and did well until he fell out with the player. It is natural that once the fallout happens, it is quite tough to resurrect the relationship because both men have different styles of play in their minds.

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What will happen with Sarri and Luiz, is a parallel thinking of similar football which will make them work in tandem on and off the pitch. This will not only aid the player but also provide scope for the manager to pick him regularly and get the best out of him.