Had to be him: Conor Gallagher struck the winner against his former club
(Picture: REUTERS)Conor Gallagher marked his Selhurst Park return in stunning fashion as he struck a later winner to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
In Graham Potter’s first Premier League match in charge of the club, the Eagles took a surprise lead in the opening minutes as Odsonne Edouard provided the finishing touch to a cross swung into the box.
That wasn’t far off Palace’s first kick of the match, but Chelsea responded before the break as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finished brilliantly for his first goal since joining the club.
A low-key second-half looked destined to finish level but Gallagher, who shone on loan at Palace last season, was introduced and he took matters into his own hands as the clock ticked into the 90th minute, curling a wonderful effort into the top corner from 25 yards out.
Chelsea completely dominated the ball in the early stages at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace having to make do with less than 10% of possession. That counted for little though, as the visitors took the lead effectively out of nothing.
Jordan Ayew whipped a brilliant ball into the box, Edouard was there to stick a leg out and he justified his place in the starting lineup by finding the top corner.
While Potter’s side continued to knock the ball around at will, they looked really vulnerable in transition as Palace burst into life on the break. An Eberechi Eze strike from distance forced Kepa Arrizabalga into a smart save.
The visitors were fortunate to not be reduced to ten men just after the half-hour mark, as Silva went to ground and deliberately handled the ball to stop Ayew running clean through on goal. A VAR review deemed the distance from goal to be enough to save the centre-back receiving anything more than a yellow card.
Silva was then inevitably involved in the equaliser, nodding a ball down for Aubameyang who controlled it and on the turn fired a superb volley home to open his account for Chelsea.
Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz were unable to take half-chances after the break to put the visitors in front, as the pattern of the match continued with Palace content to pick their moments on the break.
Wilfried Zaha moved out to the right wing to target Chilwell and he enjoyed success, seeing his shot saved by Kepa and the goalkeeper was fortunate a Chelsea shirt was waiting to clear as he spilled the effort.
It was Palace who looked the more likely to find a winner in the closing stages, with Zaha increasingly influential, but the Eagles were to be hit with a late sucker punch from a familiar source.
Gallagher was brought on by Potter and he rewarded his manager with a brilliant strike, finding the top corner with an effort worthy of settling any match to give Chelsea a much-needed lift going into a hectic run of fixtures.
