David Luiz: Tottenham firmly in Premier League title race but Chelsea won't hit panic button

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Simon Johnson5 January 2017

David Luiz insists Chelsea have no reason to panic after losing against Tottenham.

Chelsea failed to match Arsenal’s top-flight record of 14 successive wins after two goals from Dele Alli secured a 2-0 victory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The result means Spurs are now seven points behind Antonio Conte’s table toppers.

Luiz sees no cause for alarm but admits Spurs are firmly in the title race. He said: “There is no reason to panic. It is only January. In the Premier League, the only important thing is to be top of the table in May. I never saw anyone win the title in February or March.

“The most important thing is to keep the same mentality, the same maturity. In the Premier League every game is different, every game is tough. It is never easy to win.

“We won 13 games consecutively but every single match during that run was difficult. We need to carry on. Tottenham played a great, great match, congratulations to them.

“Do I see them as title rivals? Of course. I have seen them as title rivals since the start of the season. They have Pochettino and he is an amazing coach. He is doing a great job. This is just the beginning of a long fight for the title, so everybody can arrive there.”

Luiz feels Chelsea only have to look back to the way they responded to their last defeat - which also happened to be in north London, when Arsenal triumphed 3-0 last September.

The Blues won the following 13 matches and the Brazil international added: "This is a good lesson for us.

"We totally changed things after that (Arsenal) defeat and went on a long winning run. Last night we lost, but we have to continue the same way, with our philosophy.

On target: Dele Alli scored a brace to end Chelsea's winning run
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

"We work hard every day as a team. Sometimes it's not possible to win a match - Tottenham deserved to win.

"You're never happy when you lose a game, but we don't have time to feel too down. We haven't won anything yet, but we are still in a good position.

"We are fighting, we are five points clear in front. But we need to keep the same concentration because every match will be tough."

Chelsea have now conceded four goals in their last two League matches, having let in two in their previous 12, but Luiz remains unconcerned.

“We have great players, experienced players,” said the Brazil international. “I didn’t win the Premier League but I have won 15-16 trophies in my [club] career so I’m a lucky guy.

“Having experience of winning titles [like Chelsea do] is good but every day can bring something new, so we have to be ready for everything. Everybody is losing points. This is the Premier League — you never know if you will or not so you have to be [ready].

“Sometimes it’s not possible to defend everything. The other side can have amazing players and a good philosophy. Sometimes you can be lucky or not, this is football.

“We can’t do everything, we have to play with humility. We play against different teams but they can all work you hard.

“But we wake up early every day to go to training, to think and to try to improve. I never saw one team win the League without conceding goals — this is impossible.”

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