Chelsea secured a vital Premier League win in the game against Brighton and Hove Albion over the weekend. However, they did this despite going down to ten men in the first half. Conor Gallagher received two yellow cards and was sent for an early dismissal.
Despite playing at a disadvantage, the Blues led 3-1 heading into injury time. However, while there were nervy scenes after Joao Pedro scored to make it 3-2, Mauricio Pochettino’s men held on for an important three points.
On a different day, the ten men may not have held out. Moreover, Gallagher was reckless for receiving a second booking and potentially letting the team down.
Conor Gallagher’s game in numbers vs Brighton for Chelsea:
The Englishman was deployed in a number ten role just behind Nicolas Jackson. Moreover, during his spell on the pitch before receiving his marching orders, the midfielder completed 91% of his passes. Also, he succeeded with 100% of his attempted dribbles along with making two tackles.
His sending-off could have changed the course of the match. However, and it was the second Chelsea match in a row in which they have had their skipper for the day sent off after Reece James against Newcastle United.
While Gallagher failed to showcase his true talents, it was Jackson leading the line who was arguably Pochettino’s biggest disappointment. Because he failed to have any real meaningful impact on the game.
Nicolas Jackson’s game in numbers vs Brighton for Chelsea:
The striker has found the back of the net on seven occasions since joining from Villarreal for £30m in the summer. However, he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype generated upon his arrival.
The attacker was tasked with leading the line against the south coast side on Sunday afternoon. Although his link-up play was generally solid, he failed to provide any real contribution outside his assist for Levi Colwill’s goal.
During his 72-minute spell on the pitch, Jackson took just 31 touches of the ball and completed only eight passes. However, both of these statistics dismally proving to be lower than those achieved by Robert Sanchez, indicating how isolated he was at times.
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