Gallagher struck twice against the club he spent the 2021/22 campaign with on loan, as the Blues fought back from a goal behind at Selhurst Park to secure a 3-1 victory. Enzo Fernandez completed the scoring in additional time.

Chelsea were frustrated during a tepid first half in which we had fallen behind to a Jefferson Lerma strike but Gallagher’s first, a fine finish after Malo Gusto’s cross, turned the tide and we went on to make it back-to-back wins following our FA Cup success at Aston Villa last week.

Gallagher was still searching for his first goal of the season this time last week but now has three in two matches. It is form he says has given him a natural boost of confidence.

'I really enjoyed scoring the two goals,' said Gallagher. 'I've not scored enough this season so to get two is a big confidence boost for me in front of goal. That it was against Palace, well that's kind of typical now, to be honest.

'It was a hard-fought win. Palace played well and made it difficult for us to win the game. Second half we were good and created enough chances to win the game, so we're happy.'

The Blues had struggled to create chances to penetrate the Palace backline in the first half and had fallen behind when Lerma hit a stunner in the 30th minute.

But the second 45 was a different story as Pochettino's side came out firing from the off with Gallagher, a player the Chelsea head coach labelled 'priceless' after the game, leading the charge.

'We were nowhere near good enough in the first half,' said Gallagher. 'I think we only had one shot which isn't good enough by our standards.

'There was a tactical change going into the second half which helped us. We created more chances with the full-backs bombing on and by having two forwards, it gave Cole (Palmer) and myself more space in the pockets and that is where the two goals came from.

'I thought we played really well in the second half and that is the reason we got the win.'

Next up for the Blues is a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Premier League champions Manchester City. The Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley then follows the weekend after.

‘We’ve got some massive games coming up and we’re trying our best to keep on improving,’ said Gallagher. 'The key thing for us is consistency. We need to be better.

'We’ve had some games where we’ve been brilliant and some in which we’ve not been good at all.

'We know within the squad we can be a top team, there is a lot of talent there and young players who are gaining experience together. We’re a work in progress but hopefully, the consistency can start to come now.’