After playing in Chelsea’s last pre-season fixture against his former club Borussia Monchengladbach, Andreas Christensen has now turned his attention to the commencement of the Premier League.
Two penalties were enough for Chelsea to rescue a draw out of their final preparation match after they had fallen two goals behind in the first half.
The perfect reaction
Christensen was one of only six players to play the full 90 minutes of the final match in which every player was hoping to make their own case to feature in Frank Lampard's first Premier League XI. He was partnered by Kurt Zouma who will also be looking to reinstate his place in the Chelsea defence.
On the game itself, Christensen said: “It was a tough first half, but we talked in the dressing room at half-time and said we needed a reaction."
“The reaction was good; the second half was better even if we still weren’t at our best.
“It was difficult to play against, we felt that especially in the first half. It was the same when I was here, they are a young team who want to express themselves. But after talks in the dressing room we found new solutions.”
Old Trafford awaits
The 23-year-old then turned to the fiery fixture at Old Trafford. Chelsea head to Manchester on Sunday to kickstart their new life under Lampard.
There will certainly be competition for place, as there is for many Chelsea positions, with Zouma, Fikayo Tomori, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger. The latter is still recovering from injury but took a big step back to full recovery after going back to training with the squad a week ago.
Despite all the uncertainty, the Danish international is more than raring to go. He cited the good mood in the camp, strong pre-season and the enormity of facing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United on the opening day of the season.
“We are going into the Premier League with a good feeling," continued Christensen. "We want to be where we have to be. We are going to be ready. Pre-season is always hard. We have had some difficult games, and this was a good test for us.
“It’s going to be very difficult on Sunday. We still need a bit more, but we have a week to prepare. It’s going to be very tough, especially away, but I am sure we will be ready.”