Pochettino hails ‘priceless’ Gallagher after Chelsea comeback win

Mauricio Pochettino said match-winner Conor Gallagher was “invaluable” for Chelsea after his two goals helped them to a 3-1 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday night.

Chelsea went into the break 1-0 up after Jefferson Lerma's wonder goal in the first half, but Gallagher scored just a minute into the second half and then a 91st minute winner to break the resolve of Palace. Enzo Fernández added a third in the 94th minute of the match as Chelsea left Selhurst Park with three points.

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Gallagher's first saw him finish well from a Malo Gusto cross, while the second saw him head home cleanly from the edge of the box to give Chelsea the win.

“I think he is a very committed player to the team, always trying to compensate for every situation,” Pochettino said of Gallagher. “It's priceless to have a player like him. I'm so happy for him because it's a win we needed.”

Gallagher was linked with a move away from Chelsea during the January transfer window, but he stayed put. With his contract expiring at the end of next season, Gallagher's long-term future is uncertain, but Pochettino claims Gallagher never considered leaving the club last month.

“He always decided, what he told me, was that he wanted to stay at Chelsea,” Pochettino said. “But it's about him and the club. I'm not [worried about] that kind of thing, he still has one year of contract. But it's a matter for him and for the club.”

Pochettino said the club would assess the severity of Thiago Silva's groin injury on Tuesday after he was sent off after 61 minutes, and said Malo Gusto was tired rather than injured later.

Pochettino's side approached this match in inconsistent form. In their previous three matches they lost in the Premier League to Liverpool and Wolves, but their last match saw them claim an impressive 3-1 victory at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. The challenge on this trip to Selhurst Park was to play like they did against Villa, and not like they did in their last two Premier League outings.

Chelsea dominated possession in the first half but managed just one shot on target, but then found a clinical advantage in the second half once Pochettino had gone two in front with Christopher Nkunku coming on at half-time for Noni Madueke.

From there, they put in their match-winning performance, playing with the same type of intensity as against Villa. The challenge for Chelsea is to continue to seek a 90-minute broadcast. “It’s the consistency that we need to change,” Pochettino said.

We have to start the game in a different way, we have to try to be consistent to play and still perform like we did against Aston Villa. It's not easy, but that's the challenge. We had I need the three points and I'm very happy.”

Chelsea will now travel to Manchester City on Sunday, then play the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.

For the away side, the defeat left Hodgson depressed. Crystal Palace sit 15th in the league, five points outside the relegation zone, and star players Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise are all sidelined.

“I'm not really in the mood if I'm brutally honest with [talking about] positive and I'm trying to find things to say that would cheer me up, because I don't know what could be said that would cheer me up,” Hodgson said after the match.

“What can I say to boost the morale of the players? I could possibly say, well, with the players we have coming back and these guys doing so well, it bodes well for the future with the 14 games what we have left.

“But of course we still don't know when Olise and Eze will be back, so we might fight like we did tonight for a few more games before we can look at a team that will threaten the opposition a little more. that we did today.”

But despite their poor form, Hodgson is adamant the team will survive the drop, with the January signing of Adam Wharton impressing on Monday. The next key game is at Everton and then they are at home against Burnley. “It’s a bad time, but it’s caused by injuries,” Hodgson said. “It’s 14 games [left]a lot of matches and a lot of points and I think we showed enough.

“So I have no worries, but there is no complacency and the points are very necessary to get out of the relegation zone. This group of players is quite good and tonight gave me even more faith and conviction.”