David Luiz out to halt Chelsea's Champions League charge

 

 

By David Lee Wheatley  @davewh1980

 

 

Brazilian defender David Luiz will line up against former club Chelsea for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 determined to knock his old club out of the competition.

 

27-year-old Luiz won the trophy with Chelsea in 2012 by virtue of victory over Bayern Munich in the final, and would love to add another winners’ medal to his collection with the French big-spenders.

The South American has experienced a turbulent few months having suffered the embarrassment of a 7-1 loss to Germany at the World Cup in his homeland before moving to the French capital in a £50 million deal.

 

He was also named in the best XI at the World Cup, while topping off his first six months at the Parc des Princes with a nomination for FIFPro Team of the Year announced at the Ballon d’Or awards evening in January.

 

 

Luiz’s performances have largely been very good, as PSG strive to retain the French title they claimed last term. However, they sit in third place as part of a titanic three-way tussle for the championship along with leaders Lyon and Marseille after 25 matches.

He’s featured in 19 of those league outings so far, while starting every one of PSG’s Champions League group F games, as they advanced in second spot behind Barcelona.

 

“I hope this is the year we win it,” said a typically jovial Luiz at the pre-match media conference alongside boss Laurent Blanc.
 

“We have an amazing team, but it is not easy to win the Champions League.

 

“We need to be strong and play an amazing first leg because it will be decided there.
 

“I want to qualify, like I did last year but now I want to qualify for PSG.”

 

Of his former colleagues, Luiz rates them highly.
 

“They are stronger this year,” he explained.

 

“They understand more the philosophy of Jose Mourinho and in his second year it is easier to pass the message.
 

“And they have players joining with amazing quality like Diego [Costa] and [Cesc] Fabregas.”

 

Two late goals from struggling visitors Caen surprisingly hauled the scores level on Saturday in the Parisians’ latest domestic outing after the fancied hosts streaked into what appeared to be an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Injuries are piling up for manager Blanc heading into Tuesday’s game, who will certainly have to do without the services of Yohan Cabaye, Marquinhos, Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura.

Meanwhile, doubts remain over the availability of Blaise Matuidi, Javier Pastore and Maxwell, who will all be evaluated during training on Monday.

 

Champions' League club focus: Chelsea

 

 

By David Lee Wheatley

 

 

It was a tale of two highly contrasting legs at the last-eight stage for Chelsea when coming up against the new-found riches and limitless ambition of Paris Saint-Germain. The French side ran the Blues ragged in their first meeting, with a 3-1 victory scant reward for their endeavour. However, Chelsea turned the tables on their confident opponents when recording a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge with a late strike from forgotten man Demba Ba, which secured an away goal triumph few would have predicted on the evidence of the Parc des Princes clash six days earlier.

Mourinho’s men must now overcome La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, who saw off the mighty challenge of compatriots Barcelona in the quarter-finals and head into the European Cup semi-finals for the first time in 43 years. Despite the Spanish capital club’s lack of experience at the very highest level of European football, they do have two Europa League trophy wins in their locker over the last four years and appear ready for the next step on to the biggest stage of all.

The west London side sit second in the Premier League going into this weekend’s round of domestic fixtures and have suffered from several inconsistencies in their performances throughout the campaign. Atletico represent a formidable obstacle to their chances of replicating the glorious Champions’ League success of 2012 and the underdogs tag could well be bestowed upon the Blues in anticipation of this titanic tie.

Possessing arguably the strongest central defensive pairing in Europe gives Chelsea great strength within their back-line, but it is often undermined and put under unnecessary pressure by the antics of the erratic David Luiz in the defensive midfield role. The Brazilian is undoubtedly a talented footballer, but he suffers from a lack of discipline and focus, which is essential in that holding role protecting Gary Cahill and John Terry. Luckily for Luiz, that all-English partnership has been largely solid as a rock and has bailed the team out of a hole on numerous occasions this season.

Atletico will pinpoint Luiz as the Blues’ main weakness, but will also welcome the news that combative full-back Ivanovic is suspended and chief attacking threat Eden Hazard is doubtful with a calf injury. With the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Demba Ba and particularly Fernando Torres failing to find any level of goalscoring form, Mourinho will be desperate for the Belgian to feature. The Portuguese has favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout the majority of his first season back in English football, with Hazard crucial on the left-hand side of the three men deployed behind a main striker. Andre Schurrle would likely deputise in his absence, but it would be a bitter blow to Chelsea’s hopes of progressing to lose the majestic former Lille man from the line-up.

Demba Ba has scored two goals in two consecutive games heading into the weekend and has possibly done enough to keep his place up-front. However, powerful centre-backs Godin and Miranda won’t exactly spend sleepless nights worrying about facing the physical ex-Newcastle forward ahead of Tuesday’s home leg. It will be interesting to see if Mourinho plumps for former Atletico icon Torres in the hope that playing against his old club could reignite the fire within the striker’s belly in order to finally get the best out of the fading star. Despite his troubles in a Chelsea shirt, he is still revered at the Vicente Calderon and would cause more concern to the Madrid defence than anyone else in terms of their mental approach to the match.   

Suspension to Branislav Ivanovic should mean Cesar Azpilicueta returns to right-back from the left where he has been impressive, while Ashley Cole will probably come back into the fold. Ramires and David Luiz would be expected to begin in the defensive section of the midfield, but there are whispers of Luiz being deployed at right-back, thus leaving Cole out in the cold and forcing the surprise inclusion of Mikel. Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Lampard and Schurrle will battle it out for the three berths behind a lone frontman and then Ba, Eto’o and Torres will look to secure that one available position up top. It’s doubtful that Mourinho would experiment again with Schurrle in that striker role, as it failed to work out to any satisfactory degree when attempted in the first leg against PSG.

 

Chelsea’s backs are against the wall and they will thoroughly deserve a spot in the Lisbon final should they dispose of the Spaniards over what promises to be two hard-fought meetings. A lack of goals from recognised strikers and the liability of Luiz could well prove to be the downfall of this solid, if unspectacular outfit.

 

Twitter: @davewh1980

 



PSG project scales new heights

 

 

By David Lee Wheatley

Relentless pre-match talk surrounding the danger posed by Paris Saint-Germain superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic characterised the build-up to the Champions’ League quarter-final tie with Chelsea, yet it was an inspired performance by less-heralded fellow forward Ezequiel Lavezzi – aided by some extremely poor Chelsea defending it must be said - that eventually led to the Blues’ downfall in the French capital last night.

The home side took the game to their illustrious opponents from the off and duly grabbed a fourth-minute lead through an exquisite finish by Lavezzi. He chested down a poor headed clearance from John Terry which then fell slightly behind him, but somehow managed to lift off his right foot in a backward motion shortly before striking the ball unerringly with his left in one fell swoop. It was a sublime goal from a man who has endured a torrent of criticism from certain quarters since joining the PSG revolution in 2012. However, it was his time to shine yesterday with an energetic showing which forced more feted team-mates into the shade.

Chelsea were struggling to impose themselves on the game until they were gifted a penalty on 26 minutes by the usually reliable centre-back Thiago Silva. Hazard scored with ease and brought the visitors back into the reckoning for the remainder of the half, with the Parisians losing focus and concentration on several occasions.

Half-time allowed the hosts an opportunity to regroup and they set about taking Chelsea apart on the resumption of the action in the second half. It was a dominant display which showed true mettle and resolve from a side whose collective heart for the fight had been questioned in the run-up to the quarter-final clash. Could the silky-skilled artisans who have led PSG to the top of Ligue 1 largely unopposed cope with the rugged, physical, counter-attacking approach of their experienced rivals? The answer was an emphatic ‘yes’ when it mattered most out there on the Parc des Princes turf in front of their adoring fans.

Jose Mourinho gambled by selecting Andre Schurrle as a lone striker ahead of more recognised protagonists of the role, even though he is a winger by trade, and placing David Luiz in a defensive midfield position supposedly protecting the back-four. Those decisions proved costly, with the former stifled by a well-organised PSG outfit and the latter appearing totally lost as he failed miserably to provide a launching pad for attacks or the requisite shield for centre-back pairing Cahill and Terry.

Just beyond the hour-mark, a wicked in-swinging free-kick from the influential Lavezzi brought about PSG’s second goal when the ineffectual David Luiz put the ball into his own net under little pressure, possibly put off by the presence of Ibrahimovic to his left.

Meanwhile, Zlatan went off with a muscle injury on 68 minutes having only affected the game fleetingly in one of his least impressive club appearances of a wildly successful season thus far.   

Ibrahimovic’s premature departure from proceedings failed to halt the Paris freight train running amok over a beleaguered Chelsea rearguard when piling further misery on to the away side in injury-time; sub Javier Pastore firstly left Azpilicueta on his backside, before stylishly dribbling past Lampard and firing low and hard past Cech at his near post to round off a remarkable night.

This convincing statement sent out by the galaxy of Paris Saint-Germain stars cannot be underestimated; those who doubted their credentials to lift the Champions’ League trophy this campaign have been made to eat their words to an extent, while putting 2012 European champions Chelsea to the sword much like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter will undoubtedly encourage burgeoning fear inside the hearts of PSG’s potential final-four opponents should they complete the job at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday.

Twitter: @davewh1980

Luiz fits the Barcelona framework

By David Lee Wheatley

Barcelona have today put in an official bid for Chelsea central defender David Luiz, which has been rejected initially by the west London club.

The Brazilian has long been linked to a switch to the Nou Camp, but Jose Mourinho appears keen to keep him.

Incoming Barcelona head coach Gerardo Martino earmarked the versatile 26-year-old as vital to his strategy on arrival at the club, but the reported £35million on the table hasn't tempted the Blues to sell as yet.

David Luiz fits into the Barcelona way perfectly with his marauding runs from defence, attacking capabilities in the opposition box from set-pieces and undoubted skill on the ball. It's true that his insistence on going forward can sometimes leave a hole in defensive areas, but his ability far outweighs the disadvantages of having him in the side.

Returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had to bat away questions over the future of Luiz during the first few weeks of his second tenure by stating several times that the Brazil international is part of his plans, but there's been an overriding feeling that Chelsea would be willing to listen to offers if the Portuguese tactician could secure a worthy replacement.

The next step is to see if Barca come back with an improved bid for the player who only signed a new five-year contract last September at Stamford Bridge and if so, it'll be intriguing to hear the response.

Follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980
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