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By Martin Graham | 10th Apr 2023
Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher has admitted that the team is not clicking following their narrow defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
In what was supposed to be Frank Lampard’s first game back as manager, Chelsea came away with nothing from their trip to Molineux on Saturday. A 1 – 0 victory for the hosts condemned Chelsea to 11th place and took Wolves to 13th.
The performance was a dull one from the Blues. They failed to muster anything in attack and defence and Lampard was unable to rally them to lead them to success. Gallagher believes that the problem is more than the manager, stating that the team as a whole is not just clicking.
“We can’t have too many complaints,” the 23-year-old said to the club’s official site. “It was a disappointing game. We had confidence, we were up for it and excited for the game but we’re disappointed and angry because we want it so bad. We want to win games for the club, for the fans.
“It’s just not clicking at the minute. It was a tough one to take. There are a lot of areas we can improve and do better. We have to look at ourselves, individually and collectively. We didn’t do enough on the day.”
Gallagher impressed on loan at Crystal Palace last season. The Englishman was named as the Eagles’ player of the season after an impressive loan spell. The Eagles wanted to keep him but the midfielder chose to return to his boyhood club, which has turned out to be a bust.
Alongside his addition to the Chelsea squad, more than a dozen new signings were made by the club by the Todd Boehly-led consortium. Those players have failed to produce anything of repute as a team despite their individual calibres.
Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mykhaylo Mudryk, João Felix and so on have all but become extra baggage for the club, who are currently languishing in 11th place and in danger of missing out on the top 10.
Wolves, on the other hand, are beginning to pick up steam following a dismal start to the season with Bruno Lage.
Julen Lopetegui is slowly building the team up and though they are dangerously close to relegation – only eight points separate them in 13th from Southampton in 20th – they are looking more and more like a team who can get back into the top 10.
Matheus Nuñes, scorer of the goal that downed Chelsea, said to his club’s website: “It was very good, not only because of the win, but for the spirit and the courage. We were playing against a very good team, a very talented as a collective and individuals, but I think we did very well.
“We always want to win. We need every point we can get, either a draw or a win, we need the points and we’re just going to work hard to get them.
“It gives us confidence, they are a very good team, but we have eight finals until the end of the season, and we have to fight like we did.”
Martin Graham is an MFF sports writer
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