Andreas Christensen

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Patrick Bamford said:

Yeah, you right. Remember David Luiz under Conte 2017?

Yes and if we're going to go gaga over Christensen, then maybe the same should be done for Rudiger, who has also looked solid all of a sudden. Heck, even Azpi too!

[DDA 9,690]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

Yes and if we're going to go gaga over Christensen, then maybe the same should be done for Rudiger, who has also looked solid all of a sudden. Heck, even Azpi too!

Rudiger looks like an absolute rock back there... wtf happened! He actually looks physically bigger.

[manpe 10,861]

So impressed with him, another epic performance! When Silva got injured I was very worried how AC would fare in the middle of defence, but he's done brilliantly since being subbed on against Sp*rs. So much so that he cannot just be automatically dropped when Silva gets fit.

[Fernando 6,456]

Definitely pleasantly surprised with him. Thought he was done and dusted but he has put himself back in the team and is the best in the team to play the style we want to play. 

It was always like that but it was always his defending. Let's hope he keeps this up. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

Let's not get too overboard. We saw the same thing under Conte. 

Dave, Rudiger, Christensen, and Alonso have probably benefited the most in this change of system. Play those same defenders in a back 4, they will go from looking like Ferrari's to Ford KA's

[Azul 1,615]

I'm sure Thiago Silva did some Brazilian voodoo and possessed Christensen🤣

He is looking like a top class centreback at the moment. I pray he continues like this and becomes what we always wanted him to become.

[milka 3,346]

Andreas Christensen has been next level under Thomas Tuchel, we don’t see people mention it a lot but he is another La Cobham product, we all know about his ability but he’s never really had a consistent Chelsea Career, please let this be the start of something special.

[Vesper 28,796]

Brave, intelligent and confident, Andreas Christensen is back to his best

https://theathletic.com/2428384/2021/03/05/brave-intelligent-and-confident-andreas-christensen-is-back-at-his-best/

In the first minute of stoppage time at Anfield, a near-perfect Chelsea defensive performance was momentarily in danger of being tainted as Liverpool pushed hard for an equaliser.

Roberto Firmino received the ball on the turn 30 yards out, luring Antonio Rudiger into following him. The evergreen James Milner, on as a substitute, immediately raced towards the space vacated and Firmino slipped a pass beyond Rudiger into it, leaving Andreas Christensen with a crucial decision to make.

Should he stick like glue to Liverpool’s most dangerous forward on the night, Sadio Mane, or step away to deal with Milner’s surge into the penalty area.

He opted to leave Mane to deal with Milner. But he also knew that if he got his intervention wrong, or didn’t get there in time, the best-case scenario would be giving up a good shooting chance. The worst case would be conceding a penalty and risking a repeat of the red card he was shown for hauling down Mane during Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to the Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge in September.

Ultimately, the speed of Christensen’s anticipation and the decisiveness of his movement eliminated the danger almost as soon as it materialised. He left Mane, beat Milner to the ball and swept it behind for a corner kick.

Chelsea saw out the remaining two minutes on the clock in relative comfort, sealing a first Premier League victory at Anfield since 2014 and a result that cements Thomas Tuchel as the coach with the momentum in the top four race. His team were full of impressive individual performances on the night, but Christensen was an uncontroversial man of the match at the heart of a back three that limited Liverpool’s feared attack to just one shot on target.

Much of his best defensive work was done against Mane, the opponent who tormented him earlier this season. Here, early in the second half, he finds himself facing the wrong way as Curtis Jones shapes to play in the Senegal international…

But he recovers quickly to get in front of Mane and, in tandem with Rudiger, works to block any angle for a shot on Edouard Mendy’s goal. Mane instead plays the ball right to an unmarked Trent Alexander-Arnold…

… who tries to pick out an unmarked Firmino with his low cross, but Christensen intercepts and clears the danger.

Liverpool struggled to create good transition opportunities against Chelsea. One of their best openings arrived in the 52nd minute when Thiago’s sharp pass out of defence gave Firmino the chance to set Jones running, with as many as eight opposition players taken out of the game and both Mane and Salah racing ahead of him…

Firmino tries to find Jones but Christensen steps into the picture at the perfect time, intercepting to kill the Liverpool counter and instead give Chelsea a chance to reset possession in the opposition half.

Seconds later, Alexander-Arnold tries to find Mane with the kind of early, floated pass forward that led to Christensen’s red card during the Stamford Bridge meeting between these teams…

But this time, Christensen beats Mane to the ball in the right channel and passes it safely back to Mendy.

Chelsea’s defence only lost Mane once, in the 28th minute of the match.

Salah plays a brilliant first-time diagonal pass in behind and Mane races into the space between Cesar Azpilicueta and Christensen, who has been drawn over to track the decoy movement of Firmino. The result of this collective breakdown is a gilt-edged chance, and a costly mis-kick that should probably have been a goal.

Christensen’s defensive fundamentals were flawless against Liverpool, but they were only half of the value that he provided to Chelsea. Playing in the middle of Tuchel’s three-man defence gave him considerable responsibility with the ball at his feet. He touched the ball more times (88) and completed more passes (74) than anyone else on his team.

Much of his distribution was relatively conservative in the face of Liverpool’s high press — 29 of his passes went to Rudiger or Azpilicueta, while Jorginho and N’Golo Kante accounted for another 22 — but often simply keeping the ball away from the chasing Mane, Firmino or Salah is a victory.

Here, early in the game, Christensen is already under severe pressure from Mane as he receives a pass while off-balance from Jorginho. Kante, his easiest passing option, is marked…

Christensen’s comfort level on the ball allows him to swivel as he controls the pass, putting his body between Mane and the ball and opening up a simple pass to the unmarked Azpilicueta, who has an escape back to Jorginho.

Liverpool focused their pressure on limiting Chelsea’s passing options into midfield, rather than repeatedly rushing at Christensen directly. In the below image, you can see they have taken away every easy option…

But rather than panic or attempt something overly ambitious, Christensen probes until an opening presents itself. When it does, he rattles a pass into the feet of Mason Mount, who has taken up a smart position between the Liverpool lines…

Mount quickly shifts the ball wide to Ben Chilwell, and Fabinho is forced to concede a corner from the low cross.

A few minutes, later Christensen again punishes Firmino for not fully closing him down, slipping a pass through the middle of the pitch to Mount, who can quickly re-direct it out to Reece James on the right flank:

When asked about Christensen’s positive impact after the match, Tuchel cleverly side-stepped the suggestion that the Dane’s form in the middle of Chelsea’s back three could make it difficult for Thiago Silva to get his starting spot back. “Andreas stepped in in the middle of the first half against Tottenham (when Silva got injured), which was a really tough thing to do, and from the first minute, he’s been absolutely impressive.

“He’s brave, strong in individual challenges, brave and intelligent in the build-up, and plays with a lot of confidence. I am absolutely happy with his performances and how he’s stepped up. He’s been a big part of our performances.”

Earlier this season, it seemed inconceivable that Chelsea could maintain a competent defence without the experience, presence and individual talent of Silva, never mind an elite one. But the only goal that Tuchel’s side have conceded with Christensen on the pitch during this stretch was Rudiger’s freakish own goal against Sheffield United.

The Dane has grown in confidence with every clean sheet, and now finally appears back to the performance level he produced in a very similar system and role for Antonio Conte in the 2017-18 season. It may not be enough to dissuade Tuchel from bringing back a great veteran he coached throughout his time at Paris Saint-Germain, but Christensen’s revival means it is no longer an entirely straightforward question to answer.

[Fernando 6,456]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Let's not get too overboard. We saw the same thing under Conte. 

Dave, Rudiger, Christensen, and Alonso have probably benefited the most in this change of system. Play those same defenders in a back 4, they will go from looking like Ferrari's to Ford KA's

A much younger Andreas, now a more mature Andreas. I think this time it can be different with this style of play of ball possession. We can at least get rid of Zouma if he has any value. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Fernando

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

4 minutes ago, Fernando said:

A much younger Andreas, now a more mature Andreas. I think this time it can be different with this style of play of ball possession. We can at least get rid of Zouma if he has any value. 

Right but I'm not going to pretend Andreas is all of a sudden ridden of his defensive liabilities. We saw the same thing under Conte with these defenders + David Luiz. It protects them immensely. 

We still need another elite CB to partner Silva once Tuchel starts playing a back 4 again. Zouma does look likely the one to be sent off. 

[Strike 7,217]

Has been excellent in a back 3. I had given him stick after the Villa game for that half-hearted tackle on Grealish but he's had a big turnaround under Tuchel. Him and Silva are excellent centre back options for the central position in a back 3

[Fernando 6,456]

9 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Right but I'm not going to pretend Andreas is all of a sudden ridden of his defensive liabilities. We saw the same thing under Conte with these defenders + David Luiz. It protects them immensely. 

We still need another elite CB to partner Silva once Tuchel starts playing a back 4 again. Zouma does look likely the one to be sent off. 

No doubt let's see who we get for CB. Sell Zouma and get a new contract to Andreas. Tomori might be coming back in the summer if AC Milan don't buy him. 

[nyikolajevics 2,576]

46 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Right but I'm not going to pretend Andreas is all of a sudden ridden of his defensive liabilities. We saw the same thing under Conte with these defenders + David Luiz. It protects them immensely. 

We still need another elite CB to partner Silva once Tuchel starts playing a back 4 again. Zouma does look likely the one to be sent off. 

What if we stuck with back 3? Benchy and James are fine to play wingback. Ampadu and Guehi are excelling in back 3 system in their current clubs, Azpi, Andy and Rüdi are also condident in this system, we could we not keep it?

[MoroccanBlue 5,297]

10 minutes ago, nyikolajevics said:

What if we stuck with back 3? Benchy and James are fine to play wingback. Ampadu and Guehi are excelling in back 3 system in their current clubs, Azpi, Andy and Rüdi are also condident in this system, we could we not keep it?

Because every system can be exploitable, especially one that is as strict is this. Tuchel is not known for sticking with a certain formation. What he is doing, or at least I hope he is doing, is building the foundation from the back. Doing the temporary fix to get the team performing again. 

The great thing about this temporary fix, is that we are still playing progressive football with the possession game Tuchel wants. So we are still on the right path. 

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

22 hours ago, Patrick Bamford said:

Yeah, you right. Remember David Luiz under Conte 2017?

Yes one fluke season although the next season everytime Luiz played he was piss poor, resorting to his old self, in a back 3. 

Christensen has had some good games in a back 4 at times, contrary to belief, including in Germany.

Not to the same level hes put in under Conte in a 3 and with Tuchel now but still some decent games. That wee run in the end of the season with Sarri including the Europa League final he was good, he didn’t play a lot of PL games but featured throughout the Europa League in 15 games and played well enough. Yet never mentioned.

I think he’s taken the stick he got in the Villa game and before and has seriously improved. I think now he seems to be a lot more decisive and tries to be much more dominant in his actions. The physical side of the game has always been his downfall but you see him now winning big headers, not getting bullied, being more physical and ultimately much more confident. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by OneMoSalah

[NikkiCFC 7,949]

 

[Fernando 6,456]

Well deserved. 

Now sell zouma in the summer and figure out what to do with Tomori. 

[Azul 1,615]

If he continues like this, then he could be the one to replace Thiago Silva when he retires. I hope he just stays consistent, because he could be a gem. He's 24 years old, an academy grad and completely free. 

Maybe we can get a physically imposing centreback like Süle/Giminez to partner with him and Silva for next season and beyond.