In the absence of Reece James, midfielder Conor Gallagher was donning the captain’s armband against Brighton. Chelsea went on to win the match 3-2 but pundit Garth Crooks was stunned at what Gallagher did.
He told BBC Sport that the fact Gallagher got sent off as club captain a week after it had last happened was stunning for him. The 23-year-old threw his teammates under the bus in a situation where they were in so much control.
His first half sending off left the Blues in for a tough second half. However, the team showed their resolve in the second half to grind out a 3-2 win.
Deja vu?
The sending off of Conor Gallagher was kind of a deja vu for Chelsea fans. Last week, Reece James was sent off against Newcastle for two avoidable bookable offenses. James was also the captain in that match, just like Gallagher was in this match.
Crooks has now claimed that he was left stunned that history repeated itself at Stamford Bridge yesterday. He said: “What is wrong with Chelsea? In consecutive weeks, they have had Reece James and Conor Gallagher, both wearing the captain’s armband, sent off for bookable offences.
What’s that about? The Blues just about got away with it against Brighton and spent the final eight minutes hanging on. Seldom will they perform in such a reckless fashion and come away with all the points. You’d have thought they would have learned their lesson at Newcastle.”
Gallagher will miss Chelsea vs Manchester United
Gallagher will now be banned for the upcoming Premier League match against Manchester United. It will be the first league game of the season that he’ll miss.
Most likely Cole Palmer will replace Gallagher in the starting XI. Palmer was on the bench this weekend due to an injury concern.
His contract situation still needs clarifying too. Chelsea were looking for offers of around £50 million for Gallagher over the summer to see him leave. However, it now looks like the manager wants him to stay.
For more sports updates, follow us on Twitter.
