We're 370 minutes into the Andreas Christensen defensive midfielder experiment.
How its going, and the promising signs so far 🧵👇
(1/9)
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In this thread, I'll be analyzing Christensen's 370 minutes in the 5 most recent Barcelona games (the ones in which he's started in midfield).
To do so, I'll compare the Dane to the league stats of seven of the higher-profile deeper-lying midfielders in La Liga:
- Aleix García
- Aurélien Tchouaméni
- Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta
- Koke
- Luis Milla
- Martín Zubimendi
- Pepelu
We'll also include Sergio Busquets' numbers from last year and Amadou Onana of Everton (I think you know why).
Yes, I know 370 minutes is not a large sample size, and yes, I know it includes one UCL match while the other players' stats are only from league play.
Now that that's out of the way... let's begin.
(2/9)
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Possession Influence
Christensen sees the ball the least out of the sample group and creates the fewest chances.
This should not be surprise given he's naturally a center half and was brought into midfield to give Frenkie De Jong and Ilkay Gundogan freedom to do just that.
Still, interesting to see just how little he dictates play compared to Busquets from last season.
(3/9)
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Passing
His total passing is in the upper grouping, but his long passing is well below the others.
That said, our first victim of small sample size: he's only attempted 8 long balls in the 5 games (3 completed).
On the season, he's a 73.5% long passer, which plays very favorably to a defensive midfielder role.
Not too much to take away, but mildly promising.
(4/9)
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Duels
To see Christensen score so poorly here is quite surprising given his history as a center back.
He has only attempted 2 tackles (won 1), which is too small of a sample to draw conclusions, but it is fairly worrisome that he's only been in the position to attempt 2 tackles in 370 minutes.
One of the realms that should favor Andreas actually looks poor - interesting.
(5/9)
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Defensive Actions
Another shocker - he scores so far below the rest of the sample group for interceptions and ball recoveries.
The fact that he's only managed 1 interception and 11 recoveries in 370 minutes is perplexing.
So... he doesn't dictate play like Busquets, passes well but hasn't attempted many long passes, and his defensive statistics are bafflingly low.
What were the promising signs?
(6/9)
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To start, the catalyst for the experiment (at least as I understand it) was to free up the likes of Pedri, De Jong, and Gundogan to get forward and be the creative masterminds they have shown in the past.
And for the most part, its working. As a whole, the creative trio have seen improved play with Christensen sitting behind them.
(7/9)
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Even though Christensen's personal numbers haven't been the best, the team is performing better as a whole.
In only 1 of the 5 matches did the opposition register a higher xG than their season average.
In all 5 matches, Barcelona held possession for much longer than their opponents normally allow.
Both signs that Christensen is having a positive impact on the team as a whole.
(8/9)
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The verdict: Barcelona absolutely has to play with a holding midfielder (under the current set up).
The team simply operates better with one - more defensively sound and it gives creative license to Pedri, De Jong, and Gundogan.
All that said, is Andreas Christensen the answer?
He might have to be for this season, but for the long term, I can't imagine this is the way.
This is only further evidence that Amadou Onana should be a major priority this summer for the Blaugrana.
(9/9)
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