IT’S THE NEW CRAZY GANG
Palmer stars but Chelsea are left hanging on
speak of being proud but pointless, though a preceding run of three wins in six has softened the blow.
Such was their form coming into this one, Edwards made only a single change. In part that is because he does not have a billion to waste on bloating a squad, but it also illustrated the clarity of his
thinking. For Pochettino, their turmoil was laid out in the four changes he made to the side that beat Crystal Palace.
They included a start for Madueke in return for his winning strike from the bench on Wednesday, but a somewhat harsh demotion for Mykhailo Mudryk. There was also a place for Nicolas Jackson ahead of Christopher Nkunku.
Whatever the contortions around those decisions, and the debates they spark, for a long time this did not look like a match that would threaten repercussions.
Luton worked hard but ineffectively. Beyond one free-kick from Barkley, which dipped a fraction too late to get under the bar, they did not create clear chances.
Chelsea had licence to explore and the upshot was another dynamic display from Conor Gallagher. With each of his surges from deep, he highlighted what a nonsense it would be if the club go against Pochettino’s wishes by selling him next month.
While Gallagher was pulling the strings, it was Palmer who was pulling triggers. The first goal had a whiff of good fortune in its creation when Issa Kabore rolled a pass directly into Palmer’s path. He rifled it back across goal and into the top corner.
Palmer was involved in the second in so much as he delivered the final ball to Madueke, before he did the more meaningful part with a strike even better than the opener.
Edwards made two changes at the break and initially the outcome was more of the same — some good possession but nothing tangible.
Palmer seemingly killed the game with the goal for 3-0. Jackson played a part with a nice throughball, but it was the foot-roll by Palmer in rounding goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski that made the move special. How Manchester City must rue losing him.
The contest seemed done, but the fightback was quite something.
First it was Barkley who opened the door with a header, which led to a flurry of chances that included Adebayo having a strike disallowed for offside and putting another against the bar. Carlton Morris also hit the frame.
Chelsea seemed ripe to implode and when Adebayo nudged in a finish for 3-2, it felt like they would. This time in a wild ride, it went their way.