6 lessons for Chelsea from the loss against Manchester City

#2 David Luiz cannot be a starter

Manchester City v Chelsea - FA Community Shield

Probably the biggest transformation from Antonio Conte to Maurizio Sarri was going from three centre-backs to two. Hence, one of the most immediate tasks at hand for the Italian coach was to pick his new backline.

In the Community Shield, he chose to go with David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger. While Rudiger was one of the few bright spots for Chelsea last season, Luiz was completely outcasted by Antonio Conte after a reported feud and injury concerns.

However, Maurizio Sarri has given Luiz a chance to resurrect his Chelsea career. But at the Wembley stadium, all Chelsea fans saw was why Luiz must not be a starter in the upcoming season. One can understand why Luiz was chosen to be the first choice by Chelsea's new head coach.

Firstly, Luiz' ability on the ball is second to none, something that is very important for a centre-back in Sarri's system. Further, the current Chelsea team is short on leaders and Luiz is one of the few who can rally the troops.

However, the familiar problems were visible at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. It is well known that David Luiz is due a defensive brainfart and it happened multiple times in the Community Shield. Time and again, City's fantastic attacking talent exposed the Brazilian who either lost his marker or was out of position.

In David Luiz's career, these silly defensive mistakes have happened way too often for Maurizio Sarri to trust him as a first team regular, especially in a high line he likes to play.

On the bench waiting is Andreas Christensen, someone who has emerged from Chelsea's own academy and was the biggest beneficiary of Luiz's exile last season. Till February, he was by far Chelsea's best defender and impressed one and all.

However, few mistakes followed and ultimately Antonio Conte dropped him from his side. In some ways, it seemed that the young Dane was made a scapegoat as the time when the performance levels of the whole team had dropped and there were mistakes everywhere in defence.

It is extremely important that Maurizio Sarri gives Andreas Christensen his spot back in the team. As a defender, he is more reliable than Luiz and has a lot of scope for improvement. Chelsea fans saw plenty of solid performances from him during the first half of last season. On the ball, the 22-year-old is as good as anyone.

From the outside, he gives the impression to have been born to play in this system. Chelsea fans want their new manager to give academy players a chance, the first step is to give back Andreas Christensen his deserved spot back.