David Luiz demoted to ball boy duties in Chelsea training

Matt Stead

Antonio Conte demoted David Luiz to the role of ball boy in training before dropping him against Manchester United.

Luiz did not feature in the 1-0 victory over United on Sunday, from which you should read 16 Conclusions.

Conte offered no assurances to the Brazilian following the win, and according to Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, ‘there was a distinct sense that he had been placed on the Stamford Bridge naughty step’ on Sunday.

Luiz is thought to have questioned his manager’s tactics in the aftermath of the 3-0 defeat to Roma, which came a fortnight after he complained about being substituted during a 3-3 draw with the Serie A side.

It was Luiz’s defending in the Roma humbling which was ‘the final straw’ for Conte, who warned his squad that ‘whoever could not follow his orders would simply not play for him’.

Conte left Luiz out of the final training session ahead of the United match, and ‘he was made one of the ball boys for an 11 v 11 match’. Andreas Christensen took the Brazilian’s place in the starting line-up and impressed.