FOOTBALL: David Luiz believes in title
gained from their Champions League
fightback as a boost for their Premier League
title bid.
Chelsea, the 2012 winners, will play Atletico
Madrid in the semi-finals of Europe's elite
competition after overturning a two-goal
deficit to Paris Saint-Germain, who won 3-1
in the first leg in Paris but lost 2-0 in London.
But domestic duty is now the immediate
priority, with Sunday's match at Swansea next
up as Chelsea bid to keep pace at the top of
the table with Liverpool and Manchester City,
who meet at Anfield on the same day.
Damaging away defeats to Aston Villa and
Crystal Palace have handed the initiative to
Liverpool and City, with Brendan Rodgers'
Reds two points better off than the Blues, and
City just two behind but with two games in
hand.
Luiz has urged his team-mates to believe they
can still be crowned kings of England, and has
told them to keep the faith.
"It's still possible to win the league, so come
on, let's enjoy the position we are in and
believe, like we did against Paris St Germain,"
he said on chelseafc.com. "We need to have
faith because we can still do it.
"Mathematically it's still possible but every
game in the Premier League is difficult, as it
will be on Sunday.
"Swansea are tough opponents and we've
seen in the last few seasons, every time we go
there it's a difficult game.
"We need to try to do our best and win the
match."
Luiz has struggled to break into Jose
Mourinho's first-choice defence but instead
has convinced the manager to field him in
defensive midfield, performing with aplomb.
The Brazilian said: "Everybody knows when
I'm on the pitch I give everything and play with
my heart, but everybody played with the same
spirit.
"I watched the (PSG) game back at home
afterwards and it was fantastic to see every
player working hard, wanting the ball and
helping each other.
"I was happy with my performances in both
legs; when you win people look at the game in
a different way but that's football, it's about
results, not performances."
Looking ahead to the April 22 trip to Atletico,
Luiz stressed the importance of a strong
showing in the first leg.
"It's always good to play the second leg at
home, but only if you do well in the first leg,"
he added.
"If not, your heart can stop, especially if it's
like the matches in Paris and Napoli (in 2012),
we don't want that to happen again.
"You cannot choose who you play, all four
sides are great teams, that's why they are in
the semi-finals.
"Atletico are a top team, they beat Barcelona,
they're top of the league and they have a great
manager.
"Their philosophy is a good one and it will be
a tough game, but I love big matches, I love
the pressure and the responsibility
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