Chelsea: Gary Cahill, Andreas Christensen came together for dubious mark

Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen shared the centre of Chelsea’s defence, but neither scored a Premier League goal. This was the first time since 2010/11 the Blues had two players with over 1,500 minutes and no goals.

Chelsea can usually count on their centre-backs for a few goals each season. John Terry scored in every Premier League season from 2000 onward. Gary Cahill, as always following in Terry’s footsteps, had scored in each of his seasons at Chelsea until this past season. Last season he hit a career-best six goals, matching Terry’s career-best from 2011/12.

Cahill and his fellow centre-back Andreas Christensen were Chelsea’s only players with over 1,500 minutes (out of 14) and not a single league goal in 2017/18. The last time the Blues had two such players was in 2010/11, when Ashley Cole and Mikel John Obi racked up the minutes but stayed off the scoresheet. In the season before that, Mikel and Ricardo Carvalho did the same.

For all of Cole’s defensive prowess at left-back and Mikel’s cult-heroics at defensive midfield, neither offered much in the way of goal scoring. Cole scored seven goals – all in the Premier League – in 338 appearances at Chelsea. Mikel scored six goals, with just one in the league, in 372 Chelsea outings.

Cesar Azpilicueta, by contrast, has eight goals in 280 appearances. His goal-scoring stats reflect his overall versatility along the back-line. He has two as a left-back (105 apps), three at right-back (82 apps) and two at centre-back (82 apps).

Andreas Christensen’s inability to open his Chelsea account was an early source of frustration, but became one of the many cruel jokes of the 2017/18 season. His shots got closer and closer – as well as more powerful – as the season went on. His early efforts floated harmlessly high or straight to the keeper as he was unable to apply sufficient power and direction. Later in the season, though, he hit a few off the woodwork and forced the keeper into full-extension saves.

Christensen scored five goals in the Bundesliga and two in the Europa League over two seasons with Borussia Monchengladbach. He knows how to complement his defensive play with the occassional goal off a set piece (five of his seven in Germany). The football gods simply ordained that he wait another year in Blue.

Gary Cahill’s last season without a goal came in 2007/08, which he split between Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa.

He and Christensen will continue to vie for the starting role in the centre of the defence next season. Cahill has a better chance of winning the central role from Christensen than the left side from Antonio Rudiger. Perhaps the best option for all involved would be a move to a four-man defence. Christensen could be a perfect defensive midfielder in front of Cahill and Rudiger (or Kurt Zouma), while Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso start as full-backs. This would ease the selection headaches for Antonio Conte and the competition for scarce resources among the defenders. Whether it would help Andreas Christensen break his duck is another matter entirely.

Next: One Michy Batshuayi per year a poor return on £1 billion stadium investment

Now, then, wasn’t that much more pleasant and interesting than another round of speculative managerial banter?