Grading David Luiz's 1st Season at Paris Saint-Germain Month by Month
Brazilian defender David Luiz played on Saturday night as Paris Saint-Germain won their third consecutive Ligue 1 title. Despite the defender winning the league at the first time of asking in Paris, his debut season for PSG will mostly be remembered for his first-leg display against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Although he wasn’t fully fit, the former Chelsea centre-back was twice embarrassed by Luiz Suarez, and those nutmegs will be what most people recall from his first season in Ligue 1.
To try and add balance to his achievements, let’s look back, month by month, and rank how his first season in Paris has gone and what he has accomplished since making his £50 million move to the French capital last summer.
August
1 of 10
After arriving back late from the World Cup in his home country, Brazil, David Luiz didn’t make his PSG debut until the friendly with Napoli on August 11.
Laurent Blanc was able to team the £50 million centre-back with Luiz's compatriot Thiago Silva, although the latter came off with an injury in the first half.
Luiz partnered Marquinhos for his league debut against Bastia, and the new signing went the whole month without conceding a competitive goal for the club.
Grade: B
September
2 of 10
The month started with the team conceding competitively for the first time with the Brazilian in the lineup. PSG drew 1-1 with Ajax in the Champions League and then by the same score at home to Lyon in the league.
However, despite another 1-1 draw away at Toulouse, the month would end fantastically for Luiz.
Still without Thiago Silva, David Luiz stepped up and put in a monumental performance against Barcelona at the Parc des Princes. He was outstanding defensively and even opened the scoring for the home side in the 3-2 victory.
It was a level of performance that instantly won over the PSG fans.
Grade: A
October
3 of 10
Two thigh-muscle injuries hampered Luiz in October, but they still didn’t stop him from making an impact.
In the league, he appeared in the 1-1 home draw to Monaco and the a comfortable home win over Bordeaux, but Luiz’s shining moment came in the Champions League against APOEL.
With his team putting in a sluggish performance and the scores level, Luiz had to clear a gilt-edged chance off the line.
His side would then go on to nick the winner through Edinson Cavani, but without his intervention, PSG would have been a goal behind.
Grade: B
November
4 of 10
PSG won every game David Luiz played in during the month of November.
They kicked off with a 1-0 home win over APOEL—although it wasn’t there best performance of the campaign, the three points and clean sheet were vital.
Marseille then came to town and Luiz got to experience Le Classique for the first-time, beating l'OM 2-0 in Paris.
With Ibrahimovic back in the lineup after recovering from his injury, a 3-1 victory over Ajax followed, and a narrow 1-0 win over Nice in Ligue 1 helped the team build some momentum.
Grade: B
December
5 of 10
Before the winter break, David Luiz played 450 minutes for PSG in December. It would have been 540, but he spent the league game against Nantes on the bench, as Thiago Silva and Marquinhos teamed up in the centre of the defence.
It wasn’t the best month for the Parisian club, as they dropped seven points in the league.
Draws against Lille and Montpellier were compounded by a 1-0 away defeat to Guingamp at the Stade Roudourou.
Luiz was partly at fault, failing to stop the home side getting the ball into the box before Jeremy Pied scored the only goal of the game.
Grade: C
January
6 of 10
David Luiz played every minute of PSG’s games in January, helping the club advance in the Coupe de France and to four clean sheets.
PSG were shocked 4-2 away at Bastia, but they followed that up with a win by the same score against Evian at the Parc des Princes, with David Luiz scoring the equalising goal after Cedric Barbosa had given the away side an unexpected lead.
PSG were 2-0 up away at Bastia before they lost 4-2—not the defence’s finest moment of the season, but they bounced back and only conceded two more goals in January.
Grade: B
February
7 of 10
February was a huge month in cup competitions for both David Luiz and PSG. They started by reaching the Coupe de la Ligue final, beating Lille 1-0 away from home.
Their 2-0 win over Nantes in Paris helped them advance in the Coupe de France, but the biggest challenge would come in the Champions League against his former team Chelsea.
Luiz was asked by Laurent Blanc to play a defensive-midfield role to try and protect the PSG back line with Thiago Motta out injured.
The Brazilian was excellent. His energy and drive helped keep the Chelsea attack at bay. He deservedly gained a lot of praise for his display, making an argument in favour of his best position being in midfield rather than defence.
Grade: B
March
8 of 10
David Luiz started March in the PSG midfield, but no one wants to remember the dire 0-0 draw away to Monaco. He ended the month as PSG’s goal machine, scoring some incredibly important goals.
He picked up a booking but scored the opener as PSG beat Monaco in the Coupe de France just three days after the teams' goalless draw.
Luiz would follow that up with another goal and yet another booking, once again opening the scoring as PSG comfortably beat Lens 4-1 in the Parc des Princes.
His goalscoring run continued at Stamford Bridge, as the Brazilian returned to London to score a towering 86th minute header that kept PSG in the competition.
They eventually beat Chelsea on away goals, with Luiz ending up as one of PSG’s heroes on the night. Continuing the run, he also picked up another booking.
March ended with Luiz coming off injured in the 3-2 loss against Bordeaux, combined with a suspension, that made sure he didn’t play again that month.
Grade: B+
April
9 of 10
During April’s Classique, David Luiz had to come off with a thigh injury after 34 minutes, but the team went on to win 3-2. He was supposed to miss four weeks, but he made a shock return against Barcelona in the Champions League.
It would be a game to forget for the Brazilian, as Luiz Suarez took him on an embarrassing journey.
His miraculous recovery saw him start against Nice, Barcelona, Lille and Metz. The defeat against Barcelona resulted in PSG's elimination from the Champions League, but the three league victories moved them within touching distance of the Ligue 1 title.
Grade: D
May
10 of 10
Because of and injury, David Luiz wasn't able to play as big a part in May as he would have liked. However, he was able to return for the trip to Montpellier, and he helped PSG to the 2-1 away win that confirmed the league title.
It is PSG's third consecutive league success and the Brazilian's first with the club. He will hope to finish off the season with a domestic treble, as Les Parisiens take on Auxerre in the Coupe de France final on May 30.
Grade: C+
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
