Andreas Christensen

Andreas Bødtker Christensen (pronounced [ˈkʰʁestn̩sn̩]; born 10 April 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Chelsea and the Denmark national team.

Andreas Christensen
Christensen with Chelsea in 2019
Personal information
Full name Andreas Bødtker Christensen[1]
Date of birth (1996-04-10) 10 April 1996[2]
Place of birth Lillerød, Denmark
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 4
Youth career
2004–2012 Brøndby IF
2012–2013 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013– Chelsea 62 (0)
2015–2017 → Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 62 (5)
National team‡
2011–2012 Denmark U16 2 (0)
2011–2012 Denmark U17 18 (5)
2013 Denmark U19 2 (0)
2013–2015 Denmark U21 21 (1)
2015– Denmark 38 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:00, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:23, 18 November 2020 (UTC)

Christensen began his career at Brøndby and joined Chelsea at the age of 15 in February 2012, making his professional debut in October 2014. From 2015 to 2017 he was loaned to Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he made 82 appearances and scored 7 goals. Christensen made his full international debut for Denmark in June 2015, and represented the nation at the 2018 World Cup.

Club career

Early career
Christensen playing for Chelsea in 2013

Christensen was born in Lillerød, Allerød Municipality.[4] The son of former Brøndby IF goalkeeper Sten Christensen, he began his career with Brøndby IF. He spent eight years there, attracting the interest of Europe's elite clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich. On 7 February 2012, Christensen signed for Chelsea on a free transfer, near the end of André Villas-Boas' tenure as the club's manager. Upon joining the London side, Christensen said: "I have chosen Chelsea because they play the kind of football I like.”[5]

Christensen was first included in a Chelsea senior squad for their last game of the 2012–13 season on 19 May 2013, but did not feature in the match, which ended a 2–1 home win over Everton in Rafael Benítez's last match as manager.[6] In the pre-season tour of the United States before the 2013–14 season, he was part of the senior team squad and signed a professional contract thereafter.[7]

2014–15 season

He made his professional debut on 28 October 2014, playing the full 90 minutes at right back as Chelsea won 2–1 away to Shrewsbury Town in the fourth round of the League Cup.[8] Christensen did not play again until 24 January 2015, when he was utilized in the same position for Chelsea's 2–4 home defeat to League One team Bradford City in the FA Cup fourth round.[9]

Although Christensen played no further part in the campaign, Chelsea won the League Cup with a 2–0 victory over rival club Tottenham Hotspur in the final. When asked who was man of the match for the final, manager José Mourinho said "Man of the match was Andreas Christensen who played well against Shrewsbury. There are more than John Terry (the official Man of the match for the final) because we are a team. I am proud of the guys."[10]

On 13 April 2015, Christensen played for Chelsea U19 in the final of the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League against Shakhtar Donetsk in Switzerland and although he scored an own goal to cancel out Izzy Brown's opener in the first-half, Chelsea still ended with a 3–2 victory.[11] He made his Premier League debut against Sunderland on 24 May, replacing John Obi Mikel with 12 minutes remaining in a 3–1 home victory.[12] Although Christensen only made one league appearances out of the whole season, Mourinho stated that he would receive a replica medal from his club for his contributions this season.[13]

Loan to Borussia Mönchengladbach

On 10 July 2015, Christensen joined Borussia Mönchengladbach on a two-year loan deal from Chelsea.[14][15] He made his debut on 10 August against FC St. Pauli in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, winning 4–1.[16] Five days later, Christensen made his Bundesliga debut in a 4–0 loss at Borussia Dortmund.[17] He scored his first professional goals on 5 February 2016, a brace in a 5–1 win over Werder Bremen at Borussia-Park.[18]

After an impressive debut season, Christensen was voted the team's Player of the Season, ahead of Granit Xhaka, the team captain.[19] After the success of his first season, Mönchegladbach made multiple attempts to move his loan move into a permanent during the 2016 summer, although it was reported Chelsea rejected the £14.25 million bid from the German side.[20]

In the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Christensen scored the final goal of a 4–2 win away to Fiorentina in the second leg of the last 32 to assure a 4–3 aggregate win.[21] He was on target again in the next round against neighbours Schalke, who won on away goals after a 3–3 aggregate draw.[22]

Return to Chelsea
Christensen playing for Chelsea in 2017

On 12 August 2017, Christensen made his first appearance for Chelsea following his two-year loan spell in Germany, coming off the bench following captain Gary Cahill being sent off, in Chelsea's 3–2 opening day home defeat against Burnley.[23] Eight days later, he made his first Premier League start in a 2–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium.[24] On 9 January 2018, Christensen signed a new four-and-half-year deal with Chelsea running until 2022, after establishing himself in the first team.[25] Christensen made 40 appearances for the Blues in 2017–18, including three in the victorious FA Cup campaign. However, a back injury meant he was not involved in the final.[26] Prior to the season's finish, he was awarded the club's Young Player of the Year award.[27]

New manager Maurizio Sarri preferred to pair David Luiz and Antonio Rüdiger in central defence, and by February 2019 Christensen had made 15 appearances, only two of which in the league. However, he ruled out wanting to leave the club.[28]

International career

On 8 June 2015, Christensen made his senior international debut for Denmark in a 2–1 home friendly win against Montenegro at the Viborg Stadium, as a 69th-minute substitute for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.[29] On 24 March 2016, Christensen made his first Denmark start in a 2–1 victory over Iceland, playing the full 90 minutes of the friendly at the MCH Arena.[30]

Christensen played six matches in Denmark's successful 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. On 14 November 2017 he scored his first international goal to equalise in a 5–1 win over the Republic of Ireland in the second leg of the play-off.[31] Manager Age Hareide called him up for the final tournament in Russia.[32] He partnered Simon Kjær in central defence, having been able to play in that position due to Andreas Bjelland's absence through injury, but played in defensive midfield in the final group game against France.[33] In the last 16 against Croatia, he remained in midfield to combat the opponents' strength in that sector, but made an error that allowed Mario Mandžukić to equalise as the Croats went on to win on penalties.[34]

Style of play

Christensen is a centre back. In 2018, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said the Dane had displayed "great maturity" adding that he has "a lot of trust in Christensen. This player is a player for the present for Chelsea, and for Chelsea's future for 10 or 12 years. He can also become the captain of this team in the future".[35]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 24 January 2021[36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 2014–15 Premier League 10101000—30
2017–18 Premier League 27030406[lower-alpha 3]000400
2018–19 Premier League 80204015[lower-alpha 4]000290
2019–20 Premier League 21020004[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 5]0280
2020–21 Premier League 5010002[lower-alpha 3]0—80
Total 6209090270101080
Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 2015–16 Bundesliga 31330—5[lower-alpha 3]0—393
2016–17 Bundesliga 31230—9[lower-alpha 6]2—434
Total 62560—142—827
Career total 124515090412101907
  1. Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. Includes League/EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  6. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played on 18 November 2020[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Denmark 201520
201640
201781
201890
201980
202070
Total381

International goals
As of match played 14 November 2017. Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Christensen goal.
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 14 November 2017Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland14 Republic of Ireland1–15–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification[31]

Honours

Chelsea Reserves

Chelsea

Individual

References
  1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. "Andreas Christensen". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. "Andreas Christensen: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. Heneage, Kristan (21 April 2016). "Andreas Christensen: Chelsea's thriving loanee who's attracting Bayern and Barça". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  5. "Chelsea complete signing of 15-year-old Brondby defender Andreas Christensen on a free transfer". Goal.com. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  6. Phillips, Owen (15 May 2013). "Chelsea 2–1 Everton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  7. "Christensen Chelsea Profile". Chelsea F.C. 7 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  8. Chowdhury, Saj (28 October 2014). "Shrewsbury 1–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  9. Emons, Michael (24 January 2015). "Chelsea 2–4 Bradford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  10. "Matic's kit, phone calls, but no party: Chelsea's cup celebrations". BBC Sport. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  11. http://www.uefa.com/uefayouthleague/season=2015/matches/round=2000561/match=2016409/postmatch/report/index.html#brown+inspires+chelsea+youth+league+glory
  12. Winton, Richard (24 May 2015). "Chelsea 3–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  13. "Every Chelsea player to get a Premier League medal says Jose Mourinho". ESPN. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  14. "German loan for Christensen". Chelsea F.C. 10 July 2015.
  15. "Borussia bring in Chelsea's Andreas Christensen on loan". Borussia Mönchengladbach. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  16. "St. Pauli vs. Borussia M'gladbach 1 – 4", Soccerway, 10 August 2015
  17. "Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia M'gladbach 4 – 0", Soccerway, 15 August 2015
  18. "Mönchengladbach delight at dismantling Bremen". Bundesliga. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  19. "Chelsea prodigy Andreas Christensen wins Borussia Monchegladbach player of the year ahead of Arsenal's Granit Xhaka". Metro. Metro. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  20. "Chelsea reject Borussia Monchengladbach bid for Andreas Christensen – Sky sources". Sky Sports. 19 July 2016.
  21. "Fiorentina 2–4 Borussia Mönchengladbach". BBC Sport. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  22. "Borussia Monchengladbach 2 Schalke 2 (3-3 agg, Schalke win on away goals): Bentaleb penalty sends visitors through". FourFourTwo. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
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  27. "Christensen: Great to play on the big stage". Chelsea F.C. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  28. Burton, Chris (18 February 2019). "Christensen had 'doubts' but never considered leaving Chelsea". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  29. Olsen, Allan (8 June 2015). "Pierre-Emile er vores panzerwagen!" [Pierre-Emile is our tank!]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagn. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  30. "Denmark vs. Iceland (2 : 1)". OneFootball. 25 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
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  33. Wallace, Sam (26 June 2018). "Andreas Christensen gives next Chelsea manager food for thought with commanding midfield display". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  34. Watson, Jack (1 July 2018). "Croatia vs Denmark, World Cup 2018: Andreas Christensen falls flat on his face in midfield audition – scouting report". The Independent. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  35. Bhardwaj, Vaishali (23 February 2018). "Chelsea boss Antonio Conte backs Andreas Christensen to become club captain". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
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