‘He was let down’: BBC pundit says Chelsea loanee was much better than all his teammates at the weekend

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Nigel Reo-Coker had some kind words to preach about Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher’s recent respectable display for Crystal Palace.

Speaking on the BBC Football Daily podcast, Reo-Coker picked out Gallagher as the only Palace player who impressed him during their Premier League defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

Patrick Vieira’s side succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday, with the Red Devils now up and running under Ralf Rangnick.

The new manager bounce clearly worked for United, whilst Vieira’s fresh outlook has just begun to fade in the past few fixtures.

Palace have lost three of the previous four outings, following a run of six without losing.

Golden Gallagher

Yet, the one constant throughout both of these runs has been the presence of Gallagher in midfield.

Rarely does the England international drop below a 7/10, as he continues to show the skills Chelsea might be wielding next season.

He tried his best to keep the Eagles flying against United, but was largely let down by his fellow winged colleagues.

“I felt that Crystal Palace were poor today. I think they showed Manchester United a bit too much respect and they didn’t really go at them like you’d expect from a Crystal Palace team,” said Reo-Coker, a former captain of West Ham United.

“I think they could have offered a lot more. I’m a big (Wilfred) Zaha fan and I felt he was a bit disappointing today. He didn’t really turn up today.

“The one player that did stand out for me for Crystal Palace is the young lad, Gallagher, the on loan from Chelsea.

“I thought he had a really good game. He was really making a go of it and I felt he was let down by his senior team.”

Stat man

It is no surprise that the 21-year-old caught Reo-Coker’s eye from afar.

Gallagher’s statistics from his day out in Manchester are hard to ignore.

According to WhoScored.com, the midfielder had a higher passing accuracy (90%) against United than any Palace player.

He also chipped in with three interceptions – a game-high – and as many tackles.

Not to mention providing two key passes and a trio of accurate crosses.

All in an afternoon’s work for Gallagher, who deserved more out of the match for his personal performance.

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