Another week, another goal for Conor Gallagher. The 19-year-old midfielder’s long-range strike for Charlton Athletic against Derby County on Saturday afternoon was his fifth of the campaign and the best yet.
Twenty-five yards out, last season’s Chelsea academy player of the season smashed the ball into the top left corner to give Kelle Roos no chance between the Derby posts to round off a 3-0 win for the Addicks.
No wonder Lee Bowyer, Charlton’s manger, had another healthy dose of praise for Gallagher. "The kid’s doing so well, I don’t know how much more I can praise him," he told Charlton's official website.
"It’s not just what he brings in possession, his work-rate… he’s everywhere. He’s literally everywhere. He just does not stop working for the team and we’re lucky to have him.”
There was some late, late drama at the Madejski Stadium where Matt Miazga, fit again following a few weeks troubled by injury, scored in the 97th minute to earn the Berkshire side a 1-0 win against Preston North End. He was subsequently booked for jumping into the stands to celebrate with supporters.
Further down the Championship table, Huddersfield Town drew 2-2 away to Blackburn but Trevoh Chalobah was hooked early in the second half following one of his less impactful performances. The midfielder had missed England Under-21 duty due to a minor injury.
Izzy Brown set up Harry Cornick for Luton Town’s second in a 3-0 win at home to Bristol City. There were no minutes for Birmingham’s Jake Clarke-Salter or Wigan’s Dujon Sterling.
Lower down the Football League, Richard Nartey’s Burton Albion lost to Fleetwood Town and Josh Grant came on for the final moments of Plymouth’s win against Carlisle.
Across Europe there were mixed results. Tiemoue Bakayoko played the entirety of Monaco’s 3-2 win over Rennes, while in Italy Mario Pasalic was taken off after an hour with his Atalanta team winning 3-0 only for them to capitulate in his absence and draw 3-3.
In the Bundesliga there were no minutes for Lewis Baker in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s win over Mainz while Ethan Ampadu was out because of the concussion sustained while on international duty with Wales.
Kenedy came off the bench and teed up Angel Rodriguez for the first goal of Getafe’s 2-0 win against Leganes.
Seven players remain sidelined with injuries: Danny Drinkwater, Davide Zappacosta, Charly Musonda, Baba Rahman, Jamal Blackman, Jacob Maddox, Nathan Baxter.
