Conor Gallagher names Mauricio Pochettino decision that helped spark Chelsea comeback vs Man Utd

Conor Gallagher has praised Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to introduce Noni Madueke for the closing stages of Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Manchester United on Thursday evening. Having surrendered a two-goal lead to trail 3-2 going into the final 23 minutes of the contest, the Chelsea head coach rolled the dice after the 70th minute as he introduced four players.

Madueke wasn’t one of the quartet to be introduced at that point, instead having to wait until one minute from time to come on when he replaced Gallagher. Not exactly a lot of time for the winger to make his mark on the contest, the 22-year-old managed to help inspire a stunning comeback deep into stoppage time after forcing his way into the penalty area beyond Diogo Dalot and drawing a foul from the full-back.

Cole Palmer netted the resulting penalty, before the attacker then somehow turned the game on its head seconds later after firing in a late, late winner that sparked pandemonium inside Stamford Bridge. Speaking in an interview with the club after the game, Gallagher praised the decision to bring Madueke on against a tiring defence due to the player’s quality when it comes to taking his opponents on.

“It was a crazy game but I always thought we had a chance [to get back into it],” said the England international. “We were getting chances and I thought it was a good substitution from the gaffer to bring on Noni for me.

“He is brilliant in one-vs-one situations and Noni showed that by winning the penalty. So, credit to the gaffer and the other lads who came off the bench. It was brilliant from the boys.

“Now we need to build on this because there’s still plenty to play for this season. Of course, we want to win the FA Cup and we have a massive game against Man City coming up. There are European spots in the Premier League to fight for and we’re going to do our best to do so.”

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Gallagher also reserved special praise for Palmer after his hat-track sparked the incredible turnaround.

“Wow, I mean it was a pretty bonkers game,” said the midfielder. “It’s great to get the three points in the end and the lads showed a lot of character to keep playing and keep trying to get the goals in the end.

“Credit to the boys and to Cole as well. He’s been unbelievable for us. He’s got so much confidence, he’s so cool and calm. He’s been fantastic from the first day he showed up and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”