Tue. Nov 5th, 2024

Raheem Sterling’s double and a goal from Nicolas Jackson gave Chelsea their first Premier League win under manager Mauricio Pochettino as they saw off Luton Town at Stamford Bridge.

Sterling, who has started the season in excellent form, picked the ball up wide on the right and jinked his way through three players before firing into the bottom corner in the 17th minute.

The England winger then doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 67th minute when he scored from close range from a Malo Gusto cross.

Sterling was involved again as Chelsea got their third, sending a low cross into the area for Jackson to score his first goal for the club.

Luton, who are still looking for their first points of the season since being promoted from the Championship, caused Chelsea problems throughout the game but the Blues’ quality saw them take all three points.

Chelsea, who handed a full debut to their £100m signing Moises Caicedo, will be happy with the win but Pochettino will know they have much to work on as they were far from their best.

The match was not as one-sided as the score line suggests, and it needed a good save from Robert Sanchez to stop Luton levelling when the score was 1-0.

Ben Chilwell should have made it 2-0 before the two second-half goals from Sterling and Jackson, but chose to pass instead of shooting when through on goal.

Sterling getting back to his best

After his £50m transfer from Manchester City, last season Sterling scored nine goals in 38 appearances – his lowest return since his debut campaign with Liverpool.

This season, however, Sterling looks like he is getting back to his best. Pochettino has spoken to the forward throughout this pre-season and the beginning of the campaign as he looks to get the best out of him – which seems to be having the desired effect.

Sterling’s opening goal showed exactly why he is a key part of Gareth Southgate’s England squad when fully fit. He has not been in the past two Three Lions squads because of fitness issues, but it seems likely he will be included following his start to this season when the latest squad is named next week.

His second goal against Luton showed his calmness when in dangerous positions, and the pass for Jackson’s goal highlighted his quality.

If Chelsea are to get back to the top end of the table Sterling will be key to their hopes, as he is by far the most experienced and proven attacker they possess.

Luton show they will cause problems this season

Much was made of the price tags of the players before this match, with new Chelsea signing Caicedo costing more than the whole Luton squad.

However, at times you would not have been able to tell the difference in budget with the threat Luton carried.

Issa Kabore was dangerous down the right, and Luton’s coaching team encouraged the full-back to run at Chilwell whenever he got the chance.

Tahith Chong flashed a shot high and wide after he nicked the ball from Caicedo, while Ryan Giles tested Sanchez in the Chelsea goal in the second half but they could not find a clear chance to score.

The Hatters showed again that they are an organised team that will cause sides in the Premier League problems, but Chelsea’s superior quality saw them win comfortably.

Source:BBC

Leave your vote

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.