Andreas Christensen is taking his club form into Euro 2020

Andreas Christensen scored a contender for goal of the European Championships during a man-of-the-match display in Denmark’s 4-1 victory over Russia in Copenhagen

Denmark came into the match knowing they had to win to stand any chance of qualifying after losing their opening two matches of Euro 2020.

Christensen rose to the pressure with a wonder goal and an assured performance in a back three that helped secure Denmark’s position in the knockout stages of the Euros for the first time since 2004.

The 25-year-old is not known for his goal-scoring prowess and has only scored nine goals in 254 career matches but the ferociously hit strike past Matvei Safonov was arguably the most important moment of his career.

Christensen showed maturity beyond his age and quickly dedicated his strike to Christian Eriksen following his cardiac arrest in the Danes’ opening match of the tournament against Finland

This was just another display of the Danes’ elite mentality and ability to perform under pressure.

The Chelsea centre-half also showcased his abilities in the Champions League final, coming off the bench to replace the injured Thiago Silva and stifling the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Phil Foden to lift the most prized possession in club football.

The Blues’ centre-back is finally fulfilling the high expectations put on him by fellow centre-half and Chelsea legend John Terry in 2014.

Terry said: “Believe me, I am sure that he will be a top footballer and one of the future men for Chelsea, Andreas is a brilliant footballer and he will certainly get his chance at Chelsea.”

The Rise of  the Great Dane

Christensen joined Chelsea in 2012 at the age of 15 and quickly became one of the brightest prospects at Cobham.

After making his professional debut in 2014, the Dane opted to head out on loan for more regular opportunities and plied his trade at Borussia Monchengladbach for the following two seasons.

Two successful years in Germany saw Christensen return to London and displace David Luiz in the centre of a back three for the Champions of England.

However, the dismissal of Antonio Conte and the arrival of Maurizio Sarri saw the centre-back fall down the pecking order once again.

Despite only making eight appearances in the league, Christensen started every match of Chelsea’s Europa League campaign which saw them go undefeated and lift the trophy.

Frank Lampard came in as manager the following season, restoring Christensen into the starting lineup crucially this time in a back four.

Playing in a back four restricted Christensen’s ability on the ball and often left the defender exposed in the box which contributed to Chelsea conceding 54 goals, the most out of the top 10 teams that season.

A disastrous display in a 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United seemed to edge Christensen closer to the exit door, as the signing of Thiago Silva meant the Danish international made just five more appearances under Lampard in the league.

Yet, the ever-rotating door for Chelsea managers saw Lampard become the next to be dismissed midway through the current campaign.

This allowed for the 25-year-old to showcase his abilities to the new manager Thomas Tuchel and while many players improved none improved more significantly than Christensen.

The Danish international came back into the team after Chelsea lost the influential Silva to a hamstring injury against Tottenham.

Returning in the centre of the back three, Christensen helped Chelsea keep clean sheets against Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Atletico Madrid conceding zero goals and incredulously just six shots on target in over 360 minutes of football.

Christensen has excelled since his return to the team and pocketed huge names in the footballing world such as Luis Suarez, Joao Felix, Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, Bruno Fernandes and Anthony Martial.

After a shaky start to the Euros for the whole of Denmark, qualification to the last 16 will have eased the fears of the nation on their ability to perform without their star man Eriksen.

Christensen proved again that he can play the calming character in a talented Danish side and the continuation of his form will be vital for Denmark to deny the vast array of talent they could come up against in latter stages of the tournament.

The next challenge for Christensen will be to thwart Gareth Bale and his Welsh teammates in what promises to be the tie of the underdogs in Amsterdam.

Should the Danes come through that challenge then anything is within possibility as Denmark will avoid Belgium, Italy and most likely France until the final.

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