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After a long wait: Barcelona star turns the page on his suffering

Flick banks on the new Christensen

Andreas Christensen is finally putting his troubles behind him. The Danish centre-back started and played the full 90 minutes as Barcelona opened their Champions League campaign with an emphatic 5-1 win over Feyenoord at the Spotify Camp Nou.

According to Sport newspaper, the game carried real significance for Christensen. He racked up more minutes in that single match than he managed across the entire Champions League last season. In the 2025-2026 edition, he featured in just 4 games for a total of 77 minutes.

The picture now looks completely different. Christensen came through the full pre-season with the squad and started two of the first 3 rounds in the Spanish league, against Elche and Rayo Vallecano, playing 90 minutes in each. He then added a little over half an hour at the Mestalla against Valencia before reclaiming his place in the starting line-up for the start of the European campaign.

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AFP
158 days of waiting
To understand the importance of Christensen's return, we must go back to last season. On 21 December 2025, Christensen suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a training session.
That injury kept him off the pitch for 158 days. He finally returned on 23 May during the final round of the Spanish league against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium.
Before then, he had barely featured in the European competitions. He played 30 minutes against Newcastle, 8 minutes against Paris Saint-Germain, 33 minutes against Chelsea and just 6 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt. That added up to 77 minutes across 4 appearances, and he never once started.
The injury ended a season in which the centre-back could find no continuity. His comeback arrived at the death, at the Mestalla, where he played 35 minutes after more than 5 months out. Now Christensen has begun to regain his feel for matches and his role within the team.

Getty Images Sport
Hansi Flick's confidence
The Dane came through pre-season without a hitch, then opened the campaign with valuable minutes as Hansi Flick leaned on him as a trusted presence at the heart of the defence. Barcelona face a punishing run of fixtures this term, and the pressure that comes with it.
Christensen, 30, is in his fifth season at Barcelona. The club renewed his contract until 2028 last July.
His appearance against Feyenoord meant far more than another Champions League outing. Physical problems robbed him of any rhythm for much of last season. Now he was back for a full 90 minutes in Europe's biggest club competition, and in the best possible circumstances: starting for a Barcelona side that kicked off their campaign with a crushing 5-1 win.