Former Crystal Palace loanee Conor Gallagher said that he has too much respect for the club to ever celebrate scoring against them.
The midfielder spent last season with the Eagles on loan from parent club Chelsea and proved to be an instant fan favourite. In 33 league appearances, Gallagher scored eight goals and earnt himself a call-up to Gareth Southgate's England squad.
The 22-year-old returned to Stamford Bridge over the summer and came off the bench when the two sides met at Selhurst Park at the start of October. In the final moments of the game, Gallagher's curling effort from just outside the box beat Vincente Guaita to give the west London outfit all three points in a 2-1 triumph.
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Gallagher did not celebrate, instead allowing his team-mates to congratulate him for his winner and in an interview with Sky Sports he said he knew he would keep his emotions muted given the role Patrick Vieira's side played in his development.
"It was strange," he said. "When I saw it go in, I remember I went to run off just as an instant reaction as I normally do. I'd go mad normally but I have too much respect for the club for what they done for me last season so I said to myself I wouldn't celebrate if I do score in that game so just got too much respect for them."
There was speculation Gallagher could make a return to Palace in the summer, with his future at Chelsea up in the air. But after talks with then-boss Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked from the role and then replaced by Graham Potter last month, the decision was made to stay and the England international said that he always wanted to stay and play for Chelsea.
"I always knew I wanted to go back to Chelsea. I felt like I was ready to play for Chelsea and I'd done four different loans and they had all kind of been a step up and I felt like I was ready to play for Chelsea," he said.
"I had a conversation with the manager Thomas at the time and he agreed, he thought the same, so that was amazing to hear and from there it was only showing the manager what I could do and play as much as I can and as well as I can for Chelsea."
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