Former Chelsea star Conor Gallagher opened the scoring for Atletico Madrid against Real Madrid after just 27 seconds on Wednesday night.
The Blues' heavy spending in the transfer market has forced them to sell players to meet their PSR requirements. One such player who departed was academy graduate Gallagher, who joined Atletico for around £33million last summer.
Gallagher is yet to become a regular in Diego Simeone's team, but his early goal in their crunch Champions League clash against Real Madrid will have done him a world of good. The Englishman's finish past ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois levelled the tie at 2-2, with the winner set to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals next month.
And his early first-half finish was the first European goal of his career. It's a landmark moment for the man from Epsom who has proven that he can perform in Europe's elite competition.
Gallagher's performance at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium will be all the more striking for Chelsea who are slugging it out in the Europa Conference League under Enzo Maresca. Is Gallagher any worse than the Blues' current midfield options?
While Chelsea may have needed to offload some of their homegrown talent to earn some pure profit on their balance sheet, Gallagher's sale could have been a misstep. The 25-year-old may not be the most talented player, but his work rate in midfield would have been vital to Maresca's team this season.
And the Blues will have egg on their face if Gallagher goes all the way with Atletico to the Champions League final and lifts the trophy. To make matters worse, they may see their youth academy product win the La Liga title as well, with Atletico currently just a point off league leaders Barcelona.
Time will tell, but the sale of Gallagher has certainly only benefitted one side so far, and it's not been Chelsea.
football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel
Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Want to keep up to date with the breaking and important Chelsea stories whilst on the move? Well now you can!
Click this link to follow the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel, where you'll be kept up to date on the latest Blues news wherever you are.
Just remember to turn on the notifications once you've followed, and you won't miss a beat!