To describe Chelsea's win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup last night as a surprise would be a massive understatement.
The Blues came into the game off the back of two drubbings, with rumours circulating about the futures of their star players and manager, so the stage was set for another meltdown.
However, Mauricio Pochettino's side clearly weren't interested in that narrative and put in a seriously impressive performance, bossing the Villans for the entire 90 minutes.
The team were impressive to a man, although Cole Palmer was quieter than usual, and the starter who showed him up could be viewed as Poch's next Dele Alli.
Cole Palmer's game vs Villa in numbers
Now, the first thing to note is that Palmer, like every other Chelsea player on the night, played well against Unai Emery's Claret and Blue.
The former Manchester City gem didn't put a foot wrong all night, but he also didn't do as much to impact the game as some of his teammates, so he flew under the radar somewhat in comparison.
Football.london's Bobby Vincent shared this sentiment in his player ratings, giving the Englishman a 7/10 on the night and claiming that he was the 'quietest of the Chelsea attacking players' and that the Blues 'did not really need him at his peak', which is a testament to the overall performance.
It would be hard to disagree with Vincent's assessment when looking at Palmer's numbers from the game, as in his 81 minutes, he took just 29 touches, had two shots on target, completed just one dribble, maintained a passing accuracy of 81%, played one key pass, committed two fouls and won just two of his five ground duels.
81
29
2
2 (1)
17/21 (81%)
1
5 (2)
2
The Wythenshawe-born gem's numbers were not dreadful; they just mirrored his underwhelming performance and looked even more so when compared to one of his midfield partners on the night, Conor Gallagher.
Conor Gallagher's game vs Villa in numbers
In a season that has seen the stock of so many Chelsea players crater, Gallagher is one of the few who will end the campaign with a much better reputation than the one he had at the start.
However, if there was one mark against his name this year, it was that he hadn't scored a single goal all season, but that changed in the 11th minute last night, as he got on the end of a pass from Noni Madueke and rifled the ball into the back of the net.
However, Chelsea's "heart", as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, deserves praise for more than just the goal, something football.london's Vincent agrees with, as he gave Gallagher an 8/10 rating on the night and described his 'all-round game' as 'brilliant.'
This is clear from his statistics from the game: in his 94 minutes, he took 54 touches, two shots on target, completed two dribbles, maintained a passing accuracy of 90%, played two key passes, and won five of his six ground duels and made two tackles.
94
54
2
2 (2)
36/40 (90%)
2
6 (5)
2
The all-action nature of his performances has clearly won over Pochettino, and it's easy to understand why, as there are certainly some similarities between his hard-working nature and the young Dele when he first broke through under the Argentine.
Conor Gallagher could be Pochettino's new Dele Alli
So, in the vacuum of just this season, with Chelsea struggling in the way they are, this might sound like an outrageous take to some, but there is something to this comparison, and it's a comparison that others have made in the past.
For example, this was something noted by The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke back in 2022, with the Tottenham Hotspur writer tweeting: "Watching Conor Gallagher today he's got a bit of Poch-era Dele Alli to him. Great at pressing and winning the ball back."
Now, this was back when the Chelsea man was on loan at Crystal Palace and far more of a goal threat. However, his desire and ability to press teams within an inch of their lives is still just as strong as ever.
If he can rediscover the form in front of goal that led to him racking up eight goals and five assists that season with the Eagles, then this comparison might become more challenging to ignore – with Dele previously scoring 55 goals and registering 52 assists in 194 games under Pochettino's watch.
Furthermore, the pair share the trait of being positionally versatile midfielders, with the former Spurs' gem comfortable playing as an attacking midfielder, central midfielder, and occasionally on the left of midfield. In contrast, Gallagher has played in attacking, central and defensive midfield positions for the Blues.
The Cobham graduate might never match the kind of goalscoring abilities of Dele in his first few years, but with the right coaching from Pochettino and a more stable and progressive team around him, there is no apparent reason why he couldn't dramatically improve his attacking output, especially as former Palace manager Patrick Vieira described him as a "managers dream" and that he has "the quality finishing of a Frank Lampard."
Chelsea's "outstanding" 9/10 star was as good as Enzo Fernandez v Villa
The 20-year-old looks like a totally different player.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
Ultimately, there is a long way to go before the Epsom-born dynamo can claim to be Dele 2.0 for Poch, but with his current trajectory, application, and the way the manager talks about him, he could well be in a few years.
