Probably no topic gets more Chelsea fans going than the subject of youth.
Here we are with by far the best youth set-up in football, and yet Andreas Christensen is the first defender from that set-up since JT with a seeming chance to burst through.
Why is the tall young Dane getting that chance? Because, inevitably, an older player – in this case Luiz – is creaking one way or another, physically and/or temperamentally.
And, after, the sterling performance the lads put in against the hated Reds, Luiz`s omission – and the way in which that in no way negatively affected our performance as Lukaku spent the vast majority of the game in Christensen`s back pocket – has to be a cause for excitement.
In other words, you’re either a Luiz fan, or you`re a Chelsea fan.
You can’t have it both ways, lads and lasses! If youth is to come in, then age/experience has to bow out.
Luiz is now the kind of player I believe you bring in for essential cameos in midfield – his days as a lockdown defender are over; plus Kante deserves the chance to grow and improve going forward; which he can’t do if he`s spending half the time being Luiz`s nurse-maid.
While I personally prefer Zapacosta to Moses, I`m prepared to admit that that`s a matter of taste; I just happen to believe that Zapacosta is the better defender.
The fact is, that with the young Italian contending with Moses for the right wing-back spot, just as Luiz now is with Christensen for centre-back, Antonio Conte is attempting to attain that footballing nirvana where he has two genuine contenders per position.
It seems that, by hook or by crook, The Don is attempting to train the Chelsea hierarchy that this is what is needed to succeed on multiple fronts.
Forza Don Antonio!