Conor Gallagher’s late winner was written in the stars for Chelsea against Crystal Palace

He had hardly hit the ground running, consigned to a role as a Chelsea squad player and sent off in a rare start against Leicester City. But back in the familiar surrounds of Selhurst Park he thrived, giving Chelsea victory with a stunning, curling effort in the 90th minute to deflate the home fans who had applauded his return.

“It was a very special moment, to score in the last minute, it was written in the stars,” Gallagher said. “It was unfortunate it came against Palace, but I’m buzzing to get my first goal.”

Gallagher’s goal made it a winning start for Chelsea’s new manager Graham Potter, the mild-mannered 47-year-old who has rapidly risen through the ranks from the fourth tier of Swedish football just over a decade ago.

In seven previous games against Palace, as manager of Brighton, Potter had never enjoyed a victory. Were it not for the white shirts and the Chelsea crest, you could have been forgiven for thinking you were watching Potter’s Brighton side, such was the derby-like feel to the occasion.

Neither team had played a Premier League fixture in 28 days. When they were last in action, Queen Elizabeth II was still alive and Boris Johnson was the prime minister. Because of the postponements Potter was granted some unexpected bonding time with his team.

He will not have been happy when Wesley Fofana, another to still be settling into Chelsea blue, lost the ball, allowing Palace to break forward for their goal. Jordan Ayew was given time and space to pick out a cross and Odsonne Edouard had more desire than those around him, stretching out his left boot to prod in with his studs.

Then came a moment that determined the course of the first half, causing the atmosphere went up to another level. Thiago Silva went to ground in a battle with Ayew, and in an attempt to stop the forward getting past him, touched the ball while he lay on the pitch.

The referee, Chris Kavanagh, showed a yellow card, and the Video Assistant Referee decided that was sufficient punishment after a review. It is understood both the direction of Ayew’s run, which was off-centre, and the distance between the incident and the goal - about 35 yards - were the factors that kept Silva on the pitch.

If that decision was hard enough for Palace to swallow, it had a domino effect on the rest of the half.

Silva found himself in the unfamiliar left-wing position to nod down a crossfield ball. When it dropped towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with his back to goal, he evaded his marker and swivelled before finding the bottom corner.

It was a typically clinical goal for Aubameyang on his first Premier League start for Chelsea, rewarding Potter, who said his striker had “nothing to prove” on his return to English football.

In competing with Silva for the header, Nathaniel Clyne landed awkwardly and was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury, adding to Patrick Vieira’s fury. He earned himself a yellow card as he remonstrated with the referee, while Steve Parish, the Palace chairman, tweeted his disapproval at the decision mid-game.

Vieira said, “It’s difficult for me to understand it, [or] accept it, so it is better sometimes to be really quiet and not talk about it. I believe that the referee got it wrong and if I say what I think I will get in trouble.”

The Palace fans booed off the officiating team at half-time, by when momentum had already swung in Chelsea’s favour.

With 15 minutes to go Potter rolled the dice when he sent on two players desperate to break into the first team in Armando Broja, who replaced Aubameyang, and Gallagher, who came on for Kai Havertz.

It was a pivotal intervention that ensured Potter had a decisive impact on the match, and gave Gallagher hope of a bright future at Chelsea. Potter’s muted celebrations hid the joy within.

“It was a fantastic strike,” he said. “He has a lot of respect for Crystal Palace as you can see by his reaction, but he’s a Chelsea player now and it’s a great goal for us. On a personal level, it’s just nice to get the first win.”

- The Times