Andreas Christensen spent the season consigned to third in the centreback depth chart. He deserved more than the Europa League, and must have assurances of more if he is to stay at Chelsea.
Since cumbersomely caveated stats are all the rage, Andreas Christensen likely had the highest ratio of Europa League minutes to domestic league minutes among outfield players, with some minimum in each. Christensen played all but 16 minutes – 1,334 in total – of Chelsea’s run to the Europa League title, and 615 minutes in the Premier League.
Christensen was far from the biggest loser under Maurizio Sarri, but he certainly paid a heavy price for Sarri’s shift to a four-man defence and his snap judgments about who those men would be. Perhaps the soft-spoken Dane should have taken a page from his outspoken father.
David Luiz has all but admitted to charming and cajoling his way into Sarri’s regular XI. Luiz said Sarri initially had no place for him in the squad. But the man who the Daily Mail calls “a self-styled expert when it comes to changing people’s minds” did just that. Luiz wormed his way into Sarri’s affections and thence into the squad. The centre-back who can’t maintain his positioning to save his life then maintained his charm offence throughout the season, taking every opportunity to praise Maurizio Sarri the person and the coach, and Sarriball the brand masquerading as a style and philosophy.
Since Andreas Christensen spent the season as Chelsea’s third-choice centre-back – 14 Europa League appearances, 19 Premier League games as an unused substitute, six starts and two substitute appearances in the league – he is the one who lost his place to David Luiz’s grinning machinations.
In an only-under-Sarri way, Christensen was lucky to finish the Europa League on the pitch.
Christensen started in Chelsea’s early-round games in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. However, Sarri consigned Christensen to the bench in favour of his usual preferred pairing – Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz – for the first FA Cup tie against a Premier League opponent. The Blues lost 2-1 to Manchester United.
Christensen played the first four matches of the Carabao Cup. But he was out of the squad for the second-leg tie against Tottenham, and then on the bench for the final, again in favour of Rudiger and Luiz.
All of which forces the question of whether Maurizio Sarri would have started Andreas Christensen in the Europa League final had Antonio Rudiger been available.
Sten Christensen, Andreas’s father-agent, is more akin to David Luiz than his own son when a microphone is involved. He supposedly worked the phones looking for a way out for Christensen fils in January. They now may be waiting to learn Maurizio Sarri’s future at Chelsea before taking any steps about Andreas’s.
While Christensen pere is like Luiz, the one in Blue followed more the path of his teammate Gary Cahill. Christensen set himself to quietly and professionally re-proving himself when no such task should have been necessary. The Dane at least had a road back and opportunities to demonstrate whatever it is Sarri wanted to see from him. Cahill, captain, had no such privilege.
Christensen made barely any mistakes across his 14 games in the Europa League. He did not face any opponents at the level of those who derailed his season in January and February of 2018, but he showed none of the nervous moments or lapses in attention that opened the door for those crucial goals against Manchester City and Barcelona, in particular.
If Maurizio Sarri stays for another year, Christensen should make his way out as soon as Sarri’s future is confirmed. Sarri has shown no inclination to transition Luiz into the reduced playing time leadership role one would expect for a 32-year old defender for whom the club broke the two-year contract rule. Luiz will start for as long as Sarri stays, especially when the oldest alternative is only 23 years old.
However, any other manager will recognize Christensen’s ability and his professionalism over the course of this season.
Having proven himself when none was necessary, Christensen should come into a new manager’s preseason as the presumptive starter. Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and hopefully Kurt Zouma will battle for the two starting spots in a four-man defence, or will put a lock on a three-man defence.
It’s easy to forget sometimes that Andreas Christensen joined Chelsea at the academy level. His continued presence in the regular squad will be part of the messaging to the young players at Cobham that the road is open for them to the first team, something the Blues are finally starting to take seriously.