Chelsea secured a vital Premier League win against Brighton and Hove Albion over the weekend, despite going down to ten men in the first half as Conor Gallagher received two yellow cards and was sent for an early bath..
Despite playing at a disadvantage, the Blues led 3-1 heading into injury time and 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 and Gallagher was reckless for receiving a second booking and potentially letting the team down.
Conor Gallagher’s game in numbers vs Brighton
The Englishman was deployed in a number ten role just behind Nicolas Jackson and, during his spell on the pitch before receiving his marching orders, the midfielder completed 91% of his passes, 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, as he failed to have any real meaningful impact on the game.
Nicolas Jackson’s game in numbers vs Brighton
The striker has found the back of the net on seven occasions since joining from Villarreal for £30m in the summer, yet he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype generated upon his arrival.
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The attacker was tasked with leading the line against the south coast side on Sunday afternoon and while 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, with both of these statistics dismally proving to be lower than those achieved by Robert Sanchez, indicating how isolated he was at times.
Minutes played
72
Touches
18
Accurate passes
8/9 (89%)
Key passes
1
Shots
1
Dribble success
1/3
Duels won
3/11
Possession lost
7x
Fouls
1
Expected goals (xG)
0.29
The striker contested 11 total duels, but won only three, and perhaps he is still too lightweight to cope with the Premier League at the moment, while the former La Liga gem lost possession seven times and succeeded with just one of his three attempted dribbles.
Pochettino is lacking in a top-class centre-forward and this has meant he has had to persist with utilising Jackson in that role, but the 22-year-old is taking longer to adapt to English football than first anticipated.
The more he plays, the better he will get, but Pochettino will be requiring his players to hit the ground running as they chase a European spot for the 2024/25 campaign.
The win against the Seagulls will give them plenty of confidence, especially doing so with ten men for large sections of the tie, but the Argentinian will be demanding more from players such as Jackson as the festive period begins in a couple of weeks.
If the former Villarreal starlet can grab another few goals, his confidence will surely blossom.