Why Filipe Luis Is Proving Chelsea Were Wrong Not to Give Him a Chance

Filipe Luis was one of Atletico Madrid's stars as they won La Liga in 2013/14 and reached the UEFA Champions League final before departing the Vicente Calderon for Chelsea that summer.

He lasted just a year at Stamford Bridge and barely had a look-in under Jose Mourinho before returning to Atleti at the start of the present campaign. After a difficult start, the Brazilian left-back has become a key performer for Diego Simeone once again and could potentially repeat the trick of his previous season with Atleti, as they chase a league title and Champions League final spot over the final few weeks of the campaign.

His form, along with Chelsea's defensive struggles, highlights just how wrong the Premier League club were to not give Filipe Luis a lasting shot at establishing himself as first choice and why they offloaded him far too quickly.

2 Halves: the Season

Filipe Luis came straight into Simeone's first-choice XI at the beginning of the campaign, but his performances were inconsistent at best. He struggled to find his groove in the final third of the pitch, misplacing passes, not linking well with those ahead of him and rarely providing any sort of quality service to the frontmen from out wide.

Defensively, he was reasonably sound without being anywhere near his stellar best, but Simeone persisted with him for the vast majority of matches, with Guilherme Siqueira eventually forced out on loan in January because of a lack of game time.

Thereafter, Filipe has been superb.

A big upturn in form since winter has seen him become one of the most consistent and important parts of the team, both in terms of playing and availability, as he has remained fit while the centre-backs seem to be rotating injuries and the left side of midfield is shuffled by the manager. Filipe has been one of the driving forces behind Atletico's recent run of form, which sees them second in La Liga and into the last four in Europe.

2 Halves: the Pitch

From full-back, it's not always easy to affect open play continuously, but Atletico certainly use theirs to the fullest possible extent in this regard.

Atleti's usual duo are Juanfran and Filipe Luis, and both play mirrored roles: defensively strong and part of a near-impenetrable back line but also expected to surge forward and contribute to counter-attacks and more sustained build-up play. Filipe in particular has seen his own input shoot upward over the second half of the season as his fitness and determination for the cause have continually shown.

Big tackles in his own penalty box and late surges into the opposition half against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final second leg showed both sides of his game in the most vital of matches, but he isn't saving these displays for the occasion. Valencia, Real Betis or Malaga: no matter the standard of opponent, he has been putting in the same kind of performance for several months, and it's no coincidence three of his four assists for the season have come since January.

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A microcosm of the importance of both full-backs for Atleti came against Las Palmas,in January, when Juanfran crossed deep and Filipe Luis netted, one defender creating for the other.

Chelsea

As for Chelsea, regardless of selling Filipe Luis before really giving him a chance, it's clear plenty has not been right at the club this term. Their drop-off in the league has been alarming, but in defence especially they have had ample problems.

Branislav Ivanovic started the season in woeful form on the right, while Luis' replacement, Baba Rahman, took until February to surpass the 250-minute mark in the Premier League, seemingly not trusted by Jose Mourinho and unable to oust Cesar Azpilicueta.

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It seems odd the Spaniard was never moved to the right side, his natural position, and Filipe Luis given a sustained run on the left; together, they could've provided superb balance for the defence and an offensive threat on both sides.

The Atletico man was never given a run of three successive 90-minute games in the league last season at Chelsea, and as he has shown both before that campaign and in this one, he perhaps needs a run of games to show his best level.

His best, though, is among the best in world football at left-back, and Chelsea—along with a few other teams—could have done with that this season. Count that as another victory for Atletico.

Follow @karlmatchett