Chelsea had put in a near perfect performance against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge last night in the Champions League, until a poor defensive mistake by young defender Andreas Christensen allowed Lionel Messi the chance to slot home and level the scores at 1-1.
The 21-year-old Danish international played a sloppy pass across his own box in the 75th minute, which was pounced, on by Andres Iniesta, who then laid it off to Messi, who finished past Thibaut Courtois.
However, after the game Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte was quick to defend his young defender when he said:
“I think Christensen’s performance was a very good performance, an incredible performance. We are talking about a player who is only 21 years old here.
“It’s great that he is able to play this game with maturity and personality. I am very happy. He was one of the best players tonight.
“It is very difficult to pick one player or another player but I think Christensen played a top game. I am very pleased with his performance.”
To be fair to Christensen, he has been a revelation since coming into the Blues starting XI earlier this season. The 21-year-old has impressed with pace, composure and excellent ability to read the game for one so young.
He is highly rated at Stamford Bridge, and hopefully he can use last nights mistake as a way of learning what is needed when coming up against world class opposition like Barcelona.
