It is safe to say more glowing descriptions have been applied to a full debut. “It is not the day to ask about individual performances,” said Thomas Tuchel, when invited to discuss Conor Gallagher’s first Chelsea start. A 3-0 defeat to Leeds had dampened his mood.
Perhaps, however, he was simply being diplomatic. Suffice to say this had not gone as planned. Gallagher had only lasted 63 minutes and just 45 of them in the centre of midfield. He was shifted to the right at half-time and his brightest moment, a shot that almost halved the deficit, came from a more attacking berth. He was still removed soon afterwards as Tuchel overloaded with attackers to such an extent that, in effect, he ended up with a one-man midfield.
