A Progress Report on the Early-Season Form of PSG's David Luiz

Since his arrival in the French capital for an exorbitant fee in the region of €50m, according to ESPN FC’s Mark Rodden, Paris Saint-Germain’s David Luiz has been the centre of attention at the Parc des Princes.

Following his nightmare—along with the rest of his team-mates—in Brazil's 7-1 thrashing at the hands of eventual FIFA World Cup winners Germany this summer, many were simply waiting for him to slip up again.

So far, he has shown no ill effects from that harrowing July night in Belo Horizonte.

Luiz has made a good start to life with the French champions. After 11 matches in all competitions so far, the Brazil international has helped PSG keep all six of their clean sheets to date. Although he was below par—like the rest of Laurent Blanc’s team—in a 1-1 draw at Toulouse in September, he has been very good in the other 10 games he has played.

In the recent 3-0 Ligue 1 victory over Girondins de Bordeaux—during which he hit the post with a trademark swerving free-kick—and the narrow 1-0 win away at APOEL FC, Luiz was head and shoulders above most of his team-mates. The 27-year-old’s headed goal-line clearance in Cyprus was a particular highlight from that pair of matches.

David Vincent/Associated Press

Fellow Selecao star Lucas Moura might have enjoyed the plaudits following the Bordeaux win, but it was the PSG No. 32 who stood out as a rock in central defence alongside recently recovered captain Thiago Silva.

Although Luiz was bought to play alongside international central-defensive partner and close friend Silva, the pair have only featured in two competitive matches together for PSG because of the latter’s early-season hamstring injury. Both the APOEL and Bordeaux encounters finished with clean sheets, suggesting that PSG can look forward to the defence being watertight once again with their first-choice centre-backs available.

However, Luiz’s start to life with Les Parisiens has not exactly been an easy one.

Immediately after the former Chelsea and Benfica man’s arrival, Silva picked up a hamstring injury in the ill-timed friendly against Napoli. As a result, the PSG captain was absent for the best part of two months and Luiz was instead paired with promising young Brazilian Marquinhos in central defence.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

The results, despite the considerable talent possessed by both players, were arguably better than anybody could have expected. Playing alongside Luiz seemed to bring the best out of the 20-year-old, and the pair produced some excellent performances—notably in PSG’s 3-2 win over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League—before Marquinhos succumbed to a thigh problem.

Luiz has been nursing his own injury problems since the September international break, when he picked up a knee problem in the friendly clash between Brazil and Colombia. Since then, the South American has been battling to stay fit for Blanc as one of his only two fit centre-backs.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The other, Zoumana Camara, has been utilised more than Le President would have liked so far this season and has not proved to be an ideal partner for Luiz. In the two Ligue 1 games that the Brazilian and Frenchman have played in together, PSG have conceded sloppy goals that have resulted in 1-1 draws for the defending champions.

Compared with two clean sheets from two matches in all competitions alongside Silva and four from seven—including four from five league fixtures—when paired with Marquinhos, it is clear that the vibrant defender prefers playing alongside his younger, more talented compatriots.

Had it not been for some sloppily conceded goals against Olympique Lyonnais, Toulouse and AS Monaco, Luiz’s current record of five clean sheets from eight Ligue 1 matches could have been even greater, but that does not necessarily reflect poorly on his performances.

The Lyon goal was plain unlucky, in that Samuel Umtiti scored after some penalty-area pinball, Toulouse’s goal stemmed from a howling error from team-mate Serge Aurier and Camara was just as badly at fault for Monaco’s equaliser.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Early-Season Grade: A-

Overall, it has been a very good start to life in Le Championnat for Luiz, who has impressed and excited in equal measure thanks to some solid and entertaining performances.

Petros Karadjias/Associated Press

He has proved a big hit with the PSG supporters—who appreciate his adventurous style of play—and the talented centre-back has even started to show his prowess from set pieces in the absence of star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

His current level of fitness is a minor concern for Blanc, with Luiz regularly playing through the pain barrier and having already missed the games against Stade Rennais and RC Lens. However, once Marquinhos returns to the squad, the samba star may well be allowed to rest and recover completely.

Those niggling fitness issues aside, Luiz is showing that he might be worth something close to his mammoth transfer fee after all.