Former Chelsea star turned Sky Sports pundit Ray Wilkins says he believes Antonio Conte’s decision to drop David Luiz against Manchester United was the correct decision, and has praised the performance of Andreas Christensen who replaced him.

The Brazil international has been influential for Chelsea since rejoining them from PSG, but he was left out of the matchday squad for the 1-0 win over United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

It was a shock decision, but his Andreas Christensen certainly did the job in his place – impressing many including Ray Wilkins.

Wilkins believes Luiz is more suited to a role in midfield, pointing out his defensive frailties.

“He’s not been playing well,” Wilkins told Premier League Daily. “He’s lackadaisical as a defender but I think he is a very good midfield player and I have said this on numerous occasions.

“Christensen came in yesterday and played very, very well indeed in a massive game.

“How many times do you see Christensen in advance of the ball? You don’t, because he thinks defensively.

“With Luiz you see him in advance of the ball on numerous occasions during every game he plays and consequently, Chelsea suffer defensively.

“I thought the decision to drop Luiz was the right decision. I saw him play against Roma [a 3-0 Champions League defeat] the other night and he didn’t look anywhere near it. That was a poor performance.

“Yesterday was one of effervescence, they had life, and I thought Chelsea deserved to win.”
[Quotes via Sky Sports]