Andreas Christensen reacts to ending long wait for first Chelsea goal

Chelsea centre-back Andreas Christensen has expressed his pride at having finally ended his goal drought for the club after 137 appearances.

The academy graduate opened the scoring nine minutes into the 4-0 thumping of Malmo at Stamford Bridge in Champions League Group H on Tuesday night, ending his personal nine-year wait to get on the first-team scoresheet having been at Chelsea since the age of 16.

It wasn't your bog standard defender's header either, with Christensen popping up in the opposition penalty area to volley in expertly from fellow centre-back Thiago Silva's cross, firing the ball into the turf to send it looping over the goalkeeper.

"It was a proud moment, a big moment," Christensen told Chelsea's official website at full-time. "I have waited nine years for this and now it has happened. It was a very nice moment for me personally, but it wouldn’t have been worth it if we didn’t win, so that's the most pleasing.

"I am very happy for my goal. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long again to add a second!"

It was a comfortable night for Chelsea, aside from first-half injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, with two Jorginho penalties either side of a neat Kai Havertz finish giving the hosts a 4-0 victory.

That clean sheet means Christensen has played a part in a mightily impressive 42 shutouts in his last 52 competitive appearances for club and country. Malmo were limited to just two attempts on goal on Wednesday night, with Chelsea stopper Edouard Mendy not forced into a single save.

"It was very important for us to do things right today, staying in the group and it was a big step for us," Christensen continued.

"I know a few of the [Malmo] players, and I know they have quality. They have a certain way of playing and we know that, we tried to expose that today. We know how they are used to not having the ball all the time and they have the quality to do it. I think we showed quality today.

"Overall it was a good game from us and it was important just to do things right for the whole game."