A fair number of players has seen their fortunes change ever since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at the helm at Chelsea. While the German head coach has brought back Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso and Jorginho into the starting line-up, the player who has profited the most in the Chelsea squad is a certain Andreas Christensen.
The Danish centre-back was isolated by Frank Lampard after a high-profile error against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge at the start of the season but has since found his spot back – with a series of extraordinary displays.
After Thiago Silva went off with a thigh injury against Tottenham Hotspur, Christensen steadied the ship and helped in a 1-0 Chelsea win. As games against Liverpool, Manchester United and a two-legged tie against Atletico Madrid came in thick and fast, the Danish defender held his own and helped ensure that Chelsea kept clean sheets in every game mentioned.
Christensen carried his rich vein of form to the Danish national team as well, as Denmark secured three wins out of three in their World Cup qualifiers – while not conceding a goal in any of the games played.
A surreal stat has surfaced after Denmark beat Austria 4-0 in Vienna last night, which underlines just how good Christensen has been in recent months.
The tweet from Goal correspondent Nizaar Kinsella says that Christensen has not conceded a goal in over 14 hours of football for club and country, while the last goal that he conceded against any team was an Antonio Rudiger own goal against Sheffield United.
Andreas Christensen hasn't conceded a goal in over 14 hours of football for club and country.
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) April 1, 2021
That's 863 minutes plus stoppage time. The last goal against with him in a team was from Toni Rudiger. https://t.co/CXUlb5iXWF
As a continuation of the stat, it has been over 17 hours of football since an opposition player scored against Christensen – the player being Jordan Clark for Luton Town, while it has also been 18 hours of football since a top-flight opposition player scored against him – the player being Anwar El Ghazi for Aston Villa last year.
His heroics at the heart of Chelsea defence has seen him get nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award, but it is these aforementioned stats that truly confirm the Danish defender’s unforeseen resurgence at the west London outfit.