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Pat Nevin explains how David Luiz's absence helped Chelsea against Man United

The scrutiny over Jose Mourinho's away record against the Top 6 loomed large before and after Che...



Pat Nevin explains how David L...
Soccer

Pat Nevin explains how David Luiz's absence helped Chelsea against Man United

The scrutiny over Jose Mourinho's away record against the Top 6 loomed large before and after Chelsea's 1-0 win over his Manchester United side. 

It's a result that leaves United trailing leaders Manchester City by eight points and ex-Everton, Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin joined Joe and Kevin to discuss that and more. 

Pat Nevin explains how David Luiz's absence helped Chelsea against Man United

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Turning to Chelsea's win, Pat pointed out that for a few weeks the Blues appeared to be in "mega trouble" but that the return of one player to central midfield from injury seemed to make an impact against United - but not the only change. 

"Then Kante comes back and suddenly everything's OK again, so it sounds simple but it wasn't. There was more than that, something else," he said, before touching on a notable Chelsea absentee.

"It might actually be David Luiz. Partially, he's been playing a bit slower recently. 

"You're thinking, 'No, you need to zip it around. You need to move the ball really quickly'".

Chelsea's Andreas Christensen, left, competes for the ball with Manchester United's Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

He also pointed out that "everything was being zipped" in Luiz's absence and that his erstwhile replacement Andreas Christensen, the Danish defender who Ireland will come up against in the World Cup playoffs, did not lose a battle against Romelu Lukaku.   

"He 100% starts now," said Pat of the Dane who has impressed him.

As for Mourinho's inability to take the shackles off, Pat feels the manager does not know how to utilise United's creative players effectively.

"You looked at the game there the other day and you almost think, he doesn't really know what to do with a Mkhitaryan. I don't think he understands it. He doesn't really know what to do with a Mata. I don't think he understands that kind of player. But his methodology wins trophies," said Pat.   

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