Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Conor Gallagher, Chelsea, Premier League, Crystal Palace
Alex Brotherton
Topics: Conor Gallagher, Chelsea, Premier League, Crystal Palace
Conor Gallagher was shocked when he found out how far he ran during Chelsea's win against Crystal Palace.
Chelsea earned a much-needed 3-1 Premier League win against Palace on Monday night, and Gallagher was at the heart of the action.
The 24-year-old scored a brace against his former side to inspire a second half comeback, after a Jefferson Lerma stunner had Mauricio Pochettino fearing a third consecutive league defeat.
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Enzo Fernandez scored a late third to wrap up the points and give Chelsea a boost ahead of a daunting trip to Manchester City on Saturday.
Gallagher was named the Player of the Match by Sky Sports following his impressive all-action display in the centre of midfield.
The England International is always a hard runner, but even he was surprised when he found out how much ground he covered over the course of 90 minutes.
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Speaking live to David Jones, Jamie Carragher and Petr Cech after the game, Gallagher admitted that his calf began to cramp up just before he scored the decisive goal as the game neared its conclusion.
Jones then suggested that Gallagher might have suffered cramp because he covered 13 kilometres on the night, the furthest he has ever run during a Premier League game.
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It's fair to say that Gallagher was taken aback by the stat.
"Wow! That's far innit," he replied.
"I always want to run as hard as I can for the team, but it didn't feel like I ran that far today to be fair because we had so much of the ball. But that's good, I'm happy."
Pochettino's side enjoyed 77 per cent possession and completed 749 passes compared to Palace's 161, but without two brilliant finishes from Gallagher they might have ended up losing.
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The Chelsea academy graduate showed great technique when he cushioned a volley past Dean Henderson early in the second half, before keeping his composure to sweep home from the edge of the penalty area in stoppage time to claim the victory.
Gallagher will look to replicate his performance at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.