Conor Gallagher has played a hugely important role for Chelsea in recent weeks. Despite not starting in the Premier League since the goalless draw against Fulham on February 3, Gallagher has proven to be a valuable member of the squad during the Blues' four-game unbeaten run heading into the international break.
Graham Potter's side looked set to make it four consecutive wins but a late Ellis Simms goal for Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening prevented that from happening. Nonetheless Chelsea have shown clear improvements since March began, appearing to put their torrid start to 2023 behind them.
A six-game winless run ended with a victory against Leeds on March 4, prior to a crucial triumph in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund. The following weekend saw the Blues defeat Leicester before falling short of making it another win with Everton twice equalising on Saturday.
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In those last four games, Gallagher has played a pivotal role in the eyes of Potter in helping the Blues attempt to see out a victory. With just over 20 minutes to play in the games against Leeds and Dortmund Gallagher came on and helped his team see out a result while also keeping a clean sheet intact.
The best example of his value though came in last weekend's victory over Leicester. Potter made the decision to bring off Joao Felix at half time for Gallagher to give Chelsea more control in midfield and his plan certainly worked. However, when perhaps using the same thought-process at the weekend, with the Toffees having a three-man midfield, that plan backfired.
Despite Gallagher being on the pitch, Everton scored twice with Kai Havertz dispatching from the penalty spot in between those two goals. Although the Gallagher plan did not have the same effect at Stamford Bridge over the weekend, when asked why the 23-year-old does not start after being the first sub in four consecutive games, Potter explained the key reason behind his team selection decision.
He said: “If he doesn’t start then there’s the chance he can be the first change. We used Kova and Enzo in midfield, that’s a tactical decision, and the front three at Kai, Joao and Pulisic – they’re more dribblers."
Kovacic has made a timely return from injury and formed a superb partnership with Enzo Fernandez. N'Golo Kante has been earmarked as the perfect partner for the World Cup winner and he returned to the matchday squad on Saturday. The Frenchman being back available could be detrimental to Gallagher's minutes, but Potter is clearly a huge fan of the midfielder.
"Conor has been unlucky because whenever he comes on, he’s done really well," Potter admitted. "He’ll be frustrated and rightly so but we think the world of him. He is a fantastic team player.”
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