Conor Gallagher got the ball rolling with an early opening goal on Saturday and then continued to play a part in a long-awaited win. After the 3-1 victory at Bournemouth, the England midfielder welcomed the signs that training ground work is paying off and praised two of his young team-mates.
Turning firstly to the performance overall and whether that had matched the result, Gallagher compared it to recent outings.
‘It felt a lot better,’ he began. ‘I think everyone seemed a bit more confident in what we were doing and it definitely worked. We created a lot of chances and we controlled the game. It was a good team performance and we just need to carry it on now.
‘The main message from the manager was we need to be more clinical and more ruthless in the final third, with more forward runs, more bodies in the box. Obviously everyone knows we have not scored enough goals so to get three in this game was great. It showed the stuff we have been working on worked in this game.’
Gallagher was joined by N’Golo Kante as the further-forward midfielders making runs ahead of Enzo Fernandez and it was their combination that produced the important opener inside 10 minutes.
‘It was a nice goal,’ said Gallagher. ‘I’ve been making the box whenever I play and it hasn't quite dropped to me as many times as I'd like this season. Thankfully this time it came straight to me.
‘I've been trying to make a box as much as I can and I've got a licence to do that in the position I was in so thankfully, it was a great ball from NG.
‘NG can run all day. He probably made about 100 of those forward runs which is really effective and I think my position is my favourite position and it worked well.’
While Kante’s credentials in a Chelsea shirt are long-established, two newer recruits who enjoyed good afternoons at Bournemouth were Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke.
‘They are obviously great players,’ is Gallagher’s opinion. ‘Maybe they haven’t played as much as they'd have liked because of the number of players in our squad but they showed great professionalism and I thought they were brilliant.
‘Noni has been waiting for his opportunity and got it against Arsenal and on Saturday, and he showed what he can do. I knew what he’s like because of England Under-21s. He's very young so he’s got even more to go. It's very exciting for him to be here.’