Chelsea withstood an overdue comeback when they went home with a Cole Palmer-inspired win over Luton Town.
Mauricio Pochettino had seen his side lose their last four away games (their worst run since the days of Claudio Ranieri), but they had taken the lead early on at Kenilworth Road Cole Palmer. Luton, however, secured the end of the grandstand by scoring twice at the end. .
Palmer’s first goal of the day, a gift after a poor Luton clearance, saw him return home. Noni Madueke, who saw an injury limit his minutes this season, then scored his second goal in a week to double Chelsea’s lead before half-time. The winger showed composure before firing past Thomas Kaminski.
Palmer, who had played a pivotal role in Chelsea’s attacking play, scored his moment with another quality moment surrounding the goalkeeper before showing sensational composure to head home. At that point, visitors will need to have an idea that they were at home and dry.
Elijah Adebayo thought he had given Luton a glimmer of hope with 15 minutes remaining, but an offside was disallowed by VAR, interrupting the celebrations. It was a brief respite for Chelsea’s blank sheet of paper when Ross Barkley returned home to his former employers. He discovered a moment of grace from Adebayo to make his home crowd believe, but the visitors weathered the delayed storm.
Here are Kenilworth Road talking points.
Chelsea have not lost their last game of a year at Calfinishar; in fact, they haven’t done so since Aston Villa beat them in 2011. Their victory in Luton saw them end a difficult 12 months on top. Keep in mind that everyone was connected to the club desperately hoping for a better year 2024.
The last 365 days have been among the least successful since the turn of the millennium. Many coaches have taken over, huge sums have been spent and Pochettino has yet achieved the effect he wanted. A team accustomed to winning has picked up just 3 numbers 12 times in 2023.
Hatters know where their strengths lie, and they know that, unlike groups that possess more quality, they have to excel in safe spaces if they need to get results. When they upset the more sensible groups in the Premier League, it was their aerial risk that proved to be a tough weapon.
Against Chelsea they struggled to get that part of their game firing until the latter stages. The Blues coped impressively with balls into the box for the most part and, with that aspect of Luton largely nullified, the hosts struggled to cut them apart in open play.
However, in the last 20 minutes, they discovered his mood. Adebayo saw a header disallowed by VAR, but Chelsea failed to read the warning signs. Barkley nodded after a corner, then Adebayo scored with 3 minutes remaining. Kenilworth Road was brilliant, however, failed to prompt the hosts to get the equaliser.
He took the consequences in midweek under heavy pressure, converting with confidence. It may still be a sliding doors moment for the winger, who scored at Luton.
Recruited last January as part of Chelsea’s youth recruitment campaign, he has yet to make it to the team. Pochettino spoke enthusiastically that Madueke will take a mid-level performance against Crystal Palace and will be equally pleased to see him verify it with a moment of quality.
His below-average finish has been the subject of reports on social media poking fun at the player’s flaws, however, the facets of his game before that are impressive. This only adds to the frustration of his coach, who has been touting the player’s future this week.
Pochettino could have cut Jackson’s minutes a while back if he had noticed little to give him hope, however, Jackson’s running, movement and athleticism are striking. This has continued at Luton, however, his lack of confidence in front of goal is evident, despite being Chelsea’s most level-headed goalscorer. That perhaps says more about them than it does about their striker.
A chance in the first half saw him attack from the left only to produce a weak lateral effort, the angle was opposite to him. Targeting Armando Broja has allowed Jackson a little more freedom, but it’s family issues that are holding him back.
When the team sheet came out its fair to say a few eyebrows were raised. Some may see Pochettino’s embarrassment of riches as a plus, but it certainly doesn’t aid his task when it comes to finding his best XI. The constant changes don’t help with continuity.
Mykhailo Mudryk, who scored midweek, was among those left on the bench, although he was suffering from a slight injury. But the omissions of Raheem Sterling and Christopher Nkunku, two men one would expect to play in Chelsea’s most powerful XI, were left out. Nkunku scored on his deyet and is considered by many to be a prospect for the team’s goalscoring woes, but they didn’t bring him in until the hour.
If he wants to be in the form he showed in Germany, it will be essential to get normal minutes, after a long absence due to injury. Sterling has also been a normal bright spark and can be bounced back after the suspension, but he is overlooked.
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