Conor Gallagher reacts after missing his spot-kick in the friendly shootout
(Picture: AP)Conor Gallagher was guilty of a woeful attempt at a panenka penalty as Chelsea fell to a shootout defeat in their pre-season friendly versus Charlotte.
Christian Pulisic had put the Blues ahead in North Carolina before a late Trevoh Chalobah handball allowed the MLS side to level up from the spot, and seal a 1-1 draw in normal time.
The Bank of America Stadium crowd was entertained with a penalty shootout to determine the friendly’s victor and both teams netted every spot-kick until Gallagher stepped up for the eighth attempt.
The midfielder tried to pull off a cheeky panenka finish but got it all wrong, the ball bouncing harmlessly into the goalkeeper’s arms to seal Charlotte the win.
Brazilian commentator Jorge Iggor on TNT Sports saw the funny side, at least, instinctively laughing at Gallager’s mishap.
O PIOR PÊNALTI DA HISTÓRIA? 😅👀 Olha o que fez o Gallagher... #FCSeriesNaTNTSports
— TNT Sports Brasil (@TNTSportsBR) July 21, 2022
🎙️: @jorgeiggor pic.twitter.com/BvFqfis8A9
Earlier, Pulisic had opened the scoring with a calm chip of his own during the first half.
A right-to-left move led to Michy Batshuayi firing a shot at goal that deflected into the path of Pulisic, who held his run to stay onside as he controlled the ball and calmly chipped the onrushing goalkeeper.
Thomas Tuchel was less-than-effusive of Chelsea’s display at full-time, telling the club website: “In general I would say we played a good first half but unfortunately only for 80 metres of the pitch.
“The last 20 metres were not good enough, even in the first half. We found a lot of spaces to accelerate and to penetrate the box but we struggled with our decision-making and precision in the last 20 metres.
Pulisic on the scoresheet tonight. ⚽️#BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/TMNbbXeZsb
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 21, 2022
“It was simply not good enough for the effort and quality we showed in the first 80 metres of the pitch. The amount of space we had and the amount of attacks we created, there were simply not enough clear chances or deliveries in the last 20 metres.
“We played a very good match in all the other aspects but in the second half, it took us about half an hour to show some quality and that was maybe for 10 minutes, so not good at all - not offensively, not structure-wise, not in effort or the hunger to be the dominant team.”
