How Antonio Conte Has Made David Luiz a Better Defender by Him Not Defending

It's a criticism to frustrate any defender—being told that they can't defend.

That's exactly what we have heard about David Luiz throughout his career. For all his ability as a footballer, it's been an apparent lack of defensive acumen that has been his downfall. Since he first introduced himself to the Premier League in 2011, the Brazilian has served to entertain and frustrate.

We've seen his swashbuckling forays forward and the golazos that have had pundits purring; then there has been the erratic decision-making coupled with an unwillingness to, well, defend.

Luiz has divided opinion. Indeed, he continues to do so now, but under Antonio Conte, we're seeing a new player emerge. The stereotypes of old are becoming dated; Luiz's return to Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain this summer has coincided with him developing a new-found maturity.

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The 29-year-old is looking every inch the player Chelsea had hoped he would become when they first signed him from Benfica. With his ability to excite, the Blues needed Luiz to be just as capable at the back. He wasn't, and it damaged the team, which is why he eventually departed in 2014.

Conte is changing that. Chelsea have kept four cleans sheets in the Premier League since placing Luiz at the heart of the defence. Conte's men haven't conceded in over six-and-a-half hours of football, scoring 11 goals in that time to place themselves among the leading pack.

The manager is rebuilding Chelsea on what seems to be a solid foundation at the back. We always expected that the Italian would; the surprise now is that Conte is doing it with Luiz as the fulcrum.

So how has he done it? In short, Conte has made it work by contradicting the whole principle. Luiz is Chelsea's main defender by not actually playing as a defender.

The Playmaker

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We've heard how Conte's methods are working with Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso as the wing-backs in a 3-4-3. The manager is making unfancied players perform beyond their means to provide a solid structure in defence and attack.

Further forward, it's unleashed Eden Hazard more centrally to the detriment of opposition defences. The Belgian has scored three goals in the four games since Chelsea changed things up at the end of September.

As much as that's helped the players mentioned, Luiz has flourished as well. The Brazilian has become as essential at the back as Hazard has been in the final third. It's all because he is being asked to play more like a midfielder than a centre-back.

Sitting between Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta, it's Luiz who starts Chelsea's forward movement. Of the back three, no other player makes more forward, positive passes than the Brazilian.

Indeed, over 75 per cent of Luiz's passes are with attack in mind, getting the ball to team-mates up the field and Chelsea playing out from the back. In comparison, the numbers are much less for Cahill (70 per cent) and Azpilicueta (66 per cent).

They are stats that show how Conte has tapped into Luiz's strengths and desires. We know he likes to play football, and the manager is giving him a similar sort of licence to play as he has Hazard.

The Wanderer

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That freedom means Luiz isn't as essential from a defensive perspective. With a defender either side of him, he has an insurance policy we haven't seen before at Chelsea or PSG.

We've seen Luiz getting isolated, diving into tackles and being bypassed by opposition attacks. Not anymore, as his central role means Cahill and Azpilicueta have been doing the disciplined defending for him.

Luiz is making less tackles than his defensive colleagues, instead thinking like a midfielder at the back. As much as he has to maintain an element of discipline to keep shape, Luiz's tendency to roam has become a positive thing. It's Cahill and Azpilicueta who are committed to directly stopping attackers, with Luiz coming in to sweep up and begin to play those forward passes that get Chelsea on the move.

When he gets a sniff of danger, Luiz is able to commit knowing he isn't leaving acres of space in behind. In a four-man defence, that was always his weakness. Not any more. Now he can play on instinct.

As we saw late on against Southampton last weekend (see the above graphic), times when Luiz is sucked out of position aren't as alarming. With Cahill and Azpilicueta backing him up, he is free to roam knowing he is covered. He isn't the last line in this system.

The First Responder

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The notion of Luiz being allowed to wander within reason supports this idea of him being more of a deep-lying midfielder than an out-and-out defender.

Rather than attempting to iron out Luiz's faults, Conte has embraced them. The manager would have been aware of Luiz sometimes losing his head, and that means vacating his position. Now, with the mindset of a midfielder, that flaw has become an asset.

Against Southampton, time and again, Luiz was stepping up to sniff out a threat. Rather than Nemanja Matic or N'Golo Kante sitting deeper to screen the defenders, Luiz is doing it himself, stepping up.

Cahill and Azpilicueta will sit wider and deeper whenever Luiz pushes up to clear danger. In the example above, Luiz was the player stepping up to clear loose balls against Southampton, keeping Claude Puel's side in the middle third.

In fact, this helps Kante and Matic in an attacking sense and allows Chelsea to play the game in areas Conte craves. The manager wants a higher line at the back in order to control the game away from his side's goal. Because of that, Thibaut Courtois is facing fewer shots and making fewer saves this term.

With Luiz in effect the defensive midfielder, Matic and Kante are playing an extra few yards up the pitch and expected to win the clearances Luiz is making or to receive his passes out from the back.

It also means Chelsea can turn over possession and hit teams on the counter much more efficiently.

Going Walkabout

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For all the positives we've seen from Luiz, Chelsea's loss to West Ham United in the EFL Cup was a demonstration of why doubts were raised when Conte brought him back to Stamford Bridge.

John Terry was the central figure in the back three at London Stadium, and it had an adverse effect on Luiz's performance. He was being asked to play in a different area, and Michail Antonio constantly sucked him out of position.

In the above example, a simple drop of the shoulder from the West Ham attacker left Luiz chasing shadows. Antonio preyed on Luiz's weakness, which is that tendency to overcommit and leave himself out of position.

The result in this instance was the Hammers almost scoring a second goal to double their lead, which they would have done had Manuel Lanzini shown more conviction in the box.

Antonio lured Luiz out, and the defender accepted the bait, which created a huge hole in Chelsea's defence that left Terry having to cover. The Blues were low on numbers and should have paid the price. Against more clinical opponents, they would have done.

Rather than weaken Luiz's position at Chelsea, his performance that night strengthened it. It was a wake-up call for the positives he has given at the back and going forward in Conte's new system.

Four days later, back in the middle against Southampton, Luiz gave his manager another impeccable performance as a defender who does not actually defend.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes