The first Englishman to score for Atlético Madrid in 101 years was “buzzing” on Sunday night, supporters singing his name and his coach calling him the player they needed. “It was really special,” Conor Gallagher said after his first start at the Metropolitano, where 61,752 fans who are now his fans watched him guide the ball past Giorgi Mamardashvili to set Atlético on course for a 3-0 victory against Valencia. Thousands more watching on TV voted him La Liga’s man of the match. “He’s going to be good for us,” the goalkeeper Jan Oblak said, speaking for everyone. “He makes us better,” Diego Simeone said.
Gallagher completed a neat move five minutes before half-time, slipping into the area and collecting Rodrigo De Paul’s gorgeous ball through Cristhian Mosquera’s legs to deliver a smooth finish. In his third game since a €42m (£35.5m) move from Chelsea that was done, undone and then done again, he had his first goal. No Englishman had scored for Atlético since someone called Drinkwater, whose first name time forgot, hit three against Ferroviária in the semi-final of the Copa Federación Centro in 1923. Kieran Trippier is the only Englishman to play for them since, and he didn’t score. He did, though, win the league.
“This a very proud moment, a really special night for me and my family,” Gallagher said. “Hopefully I can take this, get confidence from it and build on it.”
The Metropolitano erupted, delighted. No one more so than the small girl in the front row of the north stand who watched wide-eyed as Antoine Griezmann, on his way to celebrate with Gallagher, collected the ball from the net and handed it to her. Teammates came to embrace the Englishman and supporters started chanting his name. “Everyone was just buzzing for me: it was a really, really special moment,” Gallagher said. “Thanks to my teammates and everyone at the club. Hopefully there are many more.
“The manager plays me to my strengths, I believe. I give a lot by running in behind and making space for others, creating space on the pitch for us to play. I was quite high up, trying to create chances and get in the box and I scored so I’m very happy,” Gallagher told ESPN. But it wasn’t just about the goal. As he put it: “I try to do a bit of everything” – and that is what has endeared him to everyone.
On Sunday Gallagher started on the left of a narrow midfield three and ended on the right, although he was usually the most advanced of them, close to the forwards, and played 90 minutes for the first time here. He completed 83% of his passes, won nine duels and made all four of his tackles. No one escaped him, although the little girl in the tunnel who at the last minute decided she wasn’t that keen on being a mascot after all almost did. Both of the Madrid sports dailies went with Oasis puns: Gallagher had provided the music, they said.
“He is a hard-working player who has quality and a good ability to arrive in the area from deep and who never fails to give everything in every ball,” Simeone said. “He has come here with enthusiasm and desire: we need players like him in the middle of the pitch because he makes us better.” The day that Gallagher made his debut as a sub, against Girona, the coach had sidled up to him on the touchline and whispered a solitary word, in English: “Intense.”
“He’s always at 100%,” Oblak said. “He gives us a lot of intensity and our fans like that.”
Like it? They love it. Early in that first appearance for Atlético he dashed up the left, reached the edge of the area, got tackled, got up again, sprinted after his assailant, and took out Yangel Herrera, the place roaring as the Girona midfielder hit the floor. The overwhelming feeling is that here’s a player who is the perfect fit, for the club and the coach, something very Atlético about him. They have taken to calling him Pitbull, in the stands at least; the dressing room is different. “It’s just the fans but it’s a good one; I like it,” Gallagher said.
AS said: “The Metropolitano is mad about the Englishman; not just because of the goal but his attitude on the pitch: a player who is direct, presses, wins duels, robs the ball, seeks space. He never pulls out of a single run and he finished the game exhausted.” Marca described him as a player who “doesn’t back down and is a safety net for his teammates”.
“Gallagher has landed on his feet,” El País wrote. “A midfielder who works so hard, when he gets near the area he grows because of his intuition and his shooting, his ability to step into the box and do damage. He’s not an exquisite No 10 but he is a No 8 in many moments and there is nothing that enthuses Diego Simeone more than a midfielder who has the ability to score goals, and he has it. Like Trippier, he has that British passion for the game that enchants the fans.”
And like Drinkwater, now he has the goal to go with it. “He didn’t need to score to become a new idol at the Metropolitano: the respect and admiration for his new badge that oozes out of everything he does had already delighted the fans and the coaching staff,” Marca said. “His goal was just the icing on the cake of a promising arrival at the Metropolitano. Who better to provide the music than a Gallagher. Just as Liam marked an era fronting Oasis, Conor is ready to leave his mark at Atlético.” In AS, Picu Díaz insisted that the England midfielder would prove the signing of the season.
“It’s a big change, very different for me, but I am excited to take on the challenge of coming to Spain, learning the language and playing in La Liga,” Gallagher said. “It’s a work in progress of course. I am still learning every side of it – the language, the football, the culture – but I am really enjoying it. Every top team is similar in a lot of ways: hard work is one of the main things and talent is another. [But] the football is slightly different here. We pride ourselves on great team spirit and we have shown that so far this season.
“I have to thank all the Atléti fans for how they have welcomed me to the club and how they have shown their appreciation in the few matches I have played. I think they are a club that really appreciates passion and hard work and I try to do that every single game. I am really happy they have seen what I am like as a player and hopefully I can continue to make them happy.”
