Antonio
Conte believes David Luiz is beginning to show his "real value" for Chelsea,
but has warned the Brazilian that he must maintain his concentration during
the title run-in.
Luiz re-joined Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain for £30m in August,
following a two-year spell in the French capital, and has helped the Blues
surge nine points clear in the Premier League title race.
The 29-year-old has settled firmly into Conte's three-at-the-back formation
and produced a series of near-flawless displays, much to the delight of his
manager.
"He is showing his real value," Conte said. "I'm pleased with his
performances.
"It's important for him, for Chelsea and for me. I like to repeat (to) all
my players - you need a lot of time to be something important and you can
have only one minute to disrupt all this.
"It's important to continue this way with great concentration, with great
focus in every game.
"When you are a central defender and you play in the middle you must pay
great attention, because you have to play football with great
intelligence... to understand the moment to be aggressive and to cover the
others."
Luiz is expected to start on Sunday as Chelsea take on Burnley at Turf Moor
in the Premier League, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm.
Despite their healthy advantage at the top of the table, Conte has warned
his side they must remain alert against the Clarets, who have a formidable
home record.
"I like to keep always the right tension in my players," Conte said. "After
a good win you can be relaxed and I try to avoid this.
"This is a part of improving your mentality, the winning mentality.
"When you have this type of game against Liverpool or Arsenal the tension is
high. In those moments you must cut a bit of pressure.
"When the intensity is not high, I try to increase the intensity, to
increase the tension and to warn about the danger of the game.
"'Pay attention because on Sunday we risk a lot if we have this
concentration, this intensity, for example.
"It's important to be ready to fight. If we are a bit relaxed we risk to
lose and that's a pity."
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