David Luiz has insisted his critics cannot "kill" him because he has endured much worse in his life than their abuse.

The defender has been made one of the scapegoats for Chelsea's stuttering season, with the errors he has made often highlighted by his detractors. But David Luiz enjoyed one of his best days in a Chelsea shirt in Saturday's 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers, opening the scoring and helping his side keep a clean sheet.

The 24-year-old was raised in the São Paulo satellite town of Diadema and left home at 14 after being told by his local club he was not big enough to be a footballer. His 1,200-mile move to Esporte Club Vitória on Brazil's north-east coast forced his parents into debt.

"The guys who have never touched a ball can't kill me," David Luiz said. "This is impossible. Because I know my life when I didn't have anything, I know my life when my family needed me a lot. I know my life when I left home at 14 years of age and I told them: 'I will come back one day and give you a good life'."

David Luiz admitted criticism was "normal" when a team produced a winless run like the one Chelsea ended on Saturday. "I play in a big team and when a big team doesn't win for five games or six games, the pressure's so, so big. I believe in my job, I believe in my work every day, I believe in me. I know my football, I know my personality."

Some of David Luiz's critics have suggested he should be moved from defence to midfield, where he learned his trade before converting to a centre-back seven years ago. But his manager, André Villas-Boas, said: "I think he has excellent central-defender characteristics and we will continue to promote him in that position."