By Betsefy
A moment of magic from Conor Gallagher has earned Chelsea a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace in Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Selhurst Park.
Graham Potter has waited over three weeks to take charge of his first top-flight fixture as the new Blues boss, and the Englishman appeared to be heading for a share of the spoils with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang cancelling out Odsonne Edouard‘s early goal.
However, Gallagher will dominate the headlines, last season’s Palace loanee curling a delightful long-effort into the far corner of the net in the final minute of normal time to secure a much-needed three points for the visitors.
After switching to a back four, partnering Thiago Silva with Wesley Fofana, Potter watched his Chelsea side fall behind within seven minutes.
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Jordan Ayew delivered a perfect outswinging cross from the right flank, finding Edouard who diverted the ball into the top corner of Kepa Arrizabalaga‘s net from eight yards out.
As well as being at a goal advantage, Palace would have felt that they should have been at a player advantage later in the first half when Thiago Silva deliberately prevented a through-ball from finding Edouard.
However, VAR surprisingly insisted that a yellow card was sufficient, and it was a decision which came back to hurt Palace as Chelsea equalised five minutes later.
After a long ball found Silva on the edge of the box, the Brazilian headed the ball into the path of Aubameyang who found the bottom corner with a smart finish on the turn.
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Both teams had their moments during the second half, but Potter felt forced to make several changes to his side, including introducing Gallagher to feature against his former club.
The England international, who did not feature in Gareth Southgate‘s latest squad, was brought on to help Chelsea gain a stranglehold of the game, rather than add a threat in the final third.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old showcased his shooting ability with a stunning 25-yard strike which found the far corner of Vicente Guaita‘s net, refusing to celebrate out of respect for the Eagles.
The effort moves Chelsea into fifth position in the standings, eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
