Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen explored new role as Denmark’s right-back
By George Perry
Andreas Christensen played right-back for the first time in a Danish uniform as Denmark cruised to a World Cup berth. The Chelsea defender had plenty of freedom to explore the role in a game that quickly held little pressure or tension for his side.
Christian Eriksen’s hat trick against Ireland obscured the fact that, in a way, Andreas Christensen clinched Denmark’s place in the World Cup. Christensen did everything but walk Denmark’s opener into the net, bringing Denmark level on aggregate but ahead on away goals. The back of Cyrus Christie’s thigh took the ball those final few inches, making it an Ireland own goal. But the young Danish defender showed what he learned from his Chelsea teammates John Terry and Michy Batshuayi to put the ball on the brink of the goal line.
Christensen’s almost-goal resembled several Batshuayi goals, including the title-clincher against West Bromwich Albion and the winning goal against Atletico Madrid. In each case, the opposition were caught ball-watching, creating a wide space for the Chelsea man to meet the ball and push it into (or to the edge of) the net.
Leading up to Denmark’s opener, Christensen timed his run from the top of the box perfectly as Pione Sisto charged in from the left. Sisto attracted the attention of every Ireland player and most of the Danes. As the wave of players shifted left, Christensen only needed to flick out a leg in front of the single remaining Ireland player, who himself was completely unaware of Christensen’s run. The outside-of-the-boot flick took the ball to the edge of the goal, and Cyrus Christie inadvertently did the rest.
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Christensen nearly opened his account with Chelsea in the last game before the international break. He rose highest on a corner kick, but misjudged his jump and the ball bounced off his shoulder instead of his head. These recent performances show that he is rounding out his game by knowing when to move up and poach a goal. This would keep with the finest traditions of Chelsea’s centre-backs like John Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic.
Christensen’s turn at right-back was his first time at that position since a Champions League match with Borussia Monchengladbach in December. Before that, he was Chelsea’s right-back in one FA Cup and one EFL Cup game in 2014/15.
His showing for Denmark did not make any case that he will or should play right-back at Chelsea. For starters, Chelsea have sufficient depth at right-back. Even if Antonio Conte switched to a four-man defence, Christensen would not be in contention for the spot.
That aside, he did not have the movement patterns or link-ups – particularly overlaps – necessary for a successful Premier League full-back. The more advanced position seemed to conflict with Christensen’s natural tendency to stay back in a conservative defensive posture. Denmark’s prolonged possession deep in Ireland’s half necessarily brought Christensen forward. When he joined Denmark on the front foot, he almost instinctively took station in the centre at the top of the box rather than patrolling the outside looking for an overlap, one-two or cross.
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Andreas Christensen is already shaping up to be Chelsea’s most defensively reliable centre-back since Terry. The young Dane’s ball-handling skills are far above what John Terry could do, giving him the potential to be a more complete defender. He is on the verge of his first Chelsea and Denmark goal, which will be another milestone in a career moving in all the right directions.