Conor Gallagher has said Chelsea are ‘hungry’ to improve results after beating Aston Villa in their FA Cup fourth round replay.
Gallagher was on the scoresheet as Chelsea earned an impressive 3-1 win at Villa Park on Wednesday, with the England midfielder opening the scoring with his first goal of the campaign.
Nicolas Jackson and a fantastic free-kick from Enzo Fernandez then put Chelsea in control of the tie, with Moussa Diaby’s late goal little consolation for Aston Villa who crashed out of the cup.
Chelsea had lost six of their last seven on the road ahead of facing an Aston Villa team with an impressive home record this season, and Gallagher was full of praise with how the Blues bounced back from recent results.
“I think after our last couple of performances everyone was determined to have a good one tonight and it was, and most importantly, it was a win as well,” he said, as per the club’s official website.
“There was a lot of hunger and that’s what we need every game. I think before the game you could sense that because the last two games have not been good enough by our standards. Everyone was really up for it and raring to give our fans a good performance and we did.
“We know how we can play – tonight we showed that. A lot of times this season we haven’t been good enough, but also a lot of times we have been really good against the top teams so we know how good we can be.
“We’re really buzzing and Villa are a top team so to beat them tonight, and the way we did it, was brilliant so we will take a lot of confidence from that, and hopefully take it into the next game.”
Gallagher’s goal was his first of the season, having failed to score in his first 30 appearances in all competitions. The 23-year-old admitted his opener was a ‘weight off his shoulders’ after a barren run this season.
“It is [a weight off my shoulders] to be fair, finally!” he said.
“Obviously, I like to score goals and I want to score more. This season I haven’t done so and hopefully I can get a few more.
“It was nice to get my goal and with it being my first of the season, it was really important to me. I think it helped us gain confidence in the game which helped us win, so I’m really happy.”
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