Gary Lineker can't believe what Gareth Southgate was going to do with Conor Gallagher in Euro 2024 final
Gary Lineker was surprised about one decision that Gareth Southgate was about to make involving Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher in the Euro 2024 final.
Gareth Southgate’s England side played Spain, losing 2-1 in the end.
It was a game that Conor Gallagher did not feature in, but his Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer did manage to play and was able to make an impact.
The attacker was brought on in the 70th minute before scoring an excellent equaliser in the 73rd.
Before the match, Spain defender Marc Cucurella made it clear that he did not want Palmer to start the final, knowing exactly what his Chelsea teammate is capable of.
Gary Lineker questions Gareth Southgate after Conor Gallagher plan
Southgate also wanted to bring Gallagher on during the game, but his plan to do that went out of the window after Spain went in front for the second time on the night.
For Lineker, though, it would not have been the right move anyway.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the former England striker said: “Palmer scores that wonderful goal and you think, ‘Right, press on’, but no, we started sitting again. Let’s put it this way, just before the goal was scored, on the sideline coming on were Conor Gallagher and Kieran Trippier. That says it all.
“If you’re 2-1 up with four minutes to go, maybe, but what is he thinking there? Is he thinking he’s shoring it up because he’s worried about them.”
Should Gareth Southgate have brought Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher on?
Honestly, it is easy to understand why Southgate initially turned to Gallagher.
After England had scored their equaliser, the team did start to drop off a bit and Spain were getting on the ball more and in dangerous areas.
Gallagher’s fresh legs and energy really could have benefited the Three Lions at that stage.
However, with Spain going in front, Southgate was probably right to go with a more attacking substitution in the form of Ivan Toney.
It would have been disappointing for Gallagher and while Toney was unable to make anything happen for England, it was still the better move given the circumstances.
from Latest Chelsea News and Updates - The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/lI6dOyJ
Post a Comment