Conor Gallagher had a brilliant game at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield last night. While he didn’t get a goal, he was one of the best players in Blue at Stamford Bridge.
The midfield battle was always going to be key, and with Enzo Fernandez out, things could have been tricky. We needed a disciplined showing from out captain.
Everton made it easy for Chelsea, in many ways. Sean Dyche quite rightly smelt that the Blues could be rattled by early pressure, but his team weren’t able to deploy it well, and their midfield was desperately open behind their press.
There was another factor in Gallagher’s favour in that Enzo’s absence moved Cole Palmer into the middle. This gave Conor more of the ball, and a deeper defensive role which involved more than just getting on the front foot pressing.
The numbers behind the game
That all played into Gallagher’s hands, and he took full advantage. Just look at his brilliant numbers from the game.
Hold on a second… 👀 pic.twitter.com/k1rRSkEbrV
— Alex Goldberg (@AlexGoldberg_) April 15, 2024
4 dribbles of 4 completed as he dashed through a vacated midfield.
13 of 16 ground duels won, getting the best of a physical game against an increasingly frustrated Everton. 3 out of 4 aerials duels is just what this team needs from more of its players. He was really strong in the tackle and set the tone for the rest of the team with some early battles with opposition players in the centre circle.
And best of all, he did some good captain’s work and stepped in to end the dispute over the penalty kick.
The people upstairs planning to sell him this summer must be rubbing their hands. His value on Transfermarkt has now reached €48m. They might get even more than that for him if he closes out the season this strong. What a disaster that will be. Tottenham were linked for £40m not long ago. Can we really let that happen?
What rubbish ,you drag this out once a week at least