Spectators saw the best and worst of David Luiz on occasion in the hot-blooded West London derby between QPR and Chelsea last time out, which eventually saw the underdogs prevail thanks to two first half dismissals for Villas-Boas' side. For most teams, and indeed players, going down to 9-men would lead to a cautious approach, though the word is not one that appears to be in Luiz's limited English vocabulary right now!
The visitors went 1-0 down in the opening 10 minutes when the young Brazilian was deemed to have fouled Heidar Helguson in the box, who stepped up to convert what proved to be the decisive goal. Though the decision was a 'soft' one, it was a costly error from the defender, and it has not been his first since signing for the club in January.
Playing just 14 league games since arriving in London, Luiz has now conceded 3 penalties, though Sunday's mistake was the first time it had cost his side the points, and his naive displays at the back have frustrated his managers and supporters alike.
Match Analysis: Frailties vs QPR
Undoubtedly a fantastic footballer, Luiz does most of his best work in possession of the ball, which is a strange feat for a defender, and particularly one who is deemed primarily as a centre-back. The former Benfica-man constantly bombed down the right side of the pitch, despite the sendings off of Bosingwa and Drogba, leaving holes in the back four.
A look at the player position map (above left) shows that Luiz's (4) rampages up the pitch meant that John Obi Mikel (12) played further back than any Chelsea player. The away side played a hugely risky high line throughout the game, with the QPR defenders (faded) playing far deeper than their depleted counterparts, and much of this was down to the Brazil international.
Struggling in Comparison to Competition
A look at 4 of the key defensive stats to a centre-backs game prove that Luiz has a lot to learn if he is to become a rock at the back at Stamford Bridge. In 14 appearances he has made fewer tackles per game (1.4) than John Terry (2.2), Branislav Ivanovic (2) and Alex, who leads the way on 2.8 over the course of this season and last.
Despite completing fewer tackles, Luiz has committed more fouls per game than his 3 competing centre-backs (1.6), with Alex again impressing having conceded the fewest (0.7) despite making more tackles than his colleagues on average. Ivanovic has made a similar number of fouls (1.5) but has seemingly worked on this area of his game having conceded just 0.5 per game in his 8 appearances this season. Captain John Terry is efficient in the challenge, making just 1 foul per game.
Despite possessing more pace than his teammates, Luiz (0.9) has been dribbled past over twice as much per game as Terry and Alex (0.4), and Ivanovic, who has only let an opponent pass him 0.2 times a match since the start of last season.
The only category in which Luiz doesn't prop up the pile lays in his aerial success rate, though his modest figure of 64% only just tops Alex's 61%. Ivanovic has shown further improvements in this department this season, with his superb 88% success rate giving him an average of 66% over the past two seasons, while John Terry shows exactly how it's done with an average success rate of 71% the best of the quartet.
Natural Progression to Move Forward?
Many have suggested that Luiz's style and somewhat immature and clumsy nature in which he attempts to win every ball possible means that he is not best suited to a role in the heart of Chelsea's defence. An accomplished full-back to boot, some have said that a move further up the pitch would be beneficial to the player, and more importantly his club.
Luiz spent much of his time at Benfica as a left-back in behind another versatile player who has gone on to bigger and better things. Fabio Coentrao is also a highly capable left-back but has been pushed forward to great effect in recent years for both club - now with Real Madrid - and country. A look at the Chelsea man's stats indicate that he could also make tracks further up field, and the figures show that he may be able to make a versatile holding midfielder.
In comparing his stats this season with John Obi Mikel, we can see that the Nigerian offers more to the side in a defensive sense, with 2.1 tackles per game to Luiz's 1.5, but offers significantly less going forward. A competent player in possession, Luiz has hit his man with 85% of his passes this season, though this is down on Mikel, whose tendency to keep it simple has been rewarded with an excellent 92% accuracy.
However, Luiz outscores his teammate when it comes to key passes per game (1 to 0.6), shots per game (1.5 to 0.6) and successful dribbles per game (1.5 to 0.5). With this in mind, could Villas-Boas contemplate switching the two in the future, as they effectively did against QPR last time out, or is Luiz going to be given time to perfect the art of defending?
