Chelsea left-back Filipe Luís has found it challenging to earn consistent first-team minutes with the Blues since joining over the summer, and the former Atlético Madrid standout is also finding out how much of a challenge it is to win the Premier League crown.
In a report from the Evening Standard, Luís noted that the depth of the Premier League provides a much different challenge than that of La Liga, where Barcelona and Real Madrid are typically the only legitimate title contenders from year-to-year. Despite struggling to beat out fellow left-back César Azpilicueta since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, the Brazilian full-back appreciates the top-to-bottom competition in England’s top tier, where even the biggest clubs never seem to have easy matches.
Luís has this to say in the Standard’s report:
“In Spain you fight, of course, against Real Madrid and Barcelona and they almost never lose because they have the biggest squads and they are two of the biggest clubs in the world. So it’s really difficult.
“But in the Premier League the big clubs can lose and drop points. Games that are supposed to be easy are never easy. That’s why we, and other teams, lose points.
“In Spain it takes mid-90s or over a 100 points to be champion but here with Chelsea it is going to take a little less. But in the same way as Spain, we have to try to win all the games.”
After playing an integral part in Atlético’s La Liga title a season ago, in which Los Rojiblancos knocked off perennial favorites Barca and Real, Luís is well qualified to speak on the subject. As tough as it is to upset Spain’s two super powers, the fact that mid- to lower-table clubs routinely challenge the top teams in England certainly means that winning the Premier League is much more of a match-to-match grind than attaining the La Liga crown.
Luís, who has made 18 total appearances for Chelsea this campaign, including seven in league play (five of those as a substitute), was recently praised by Azpilicueta for raising the level of competition on the Blues’ back line despite not getting many selections in the CFC starting XI thus far.
