Chelsea survive late scare

WITH 20 minutes left, Chelsea were 3-0 up and cruising towards a polished victory over a beaten and outclassed Luton.

At that stage, nobody could have imagined that Thiago Silva would be screaming at his teammates to wake up as the game headed into six minutes of added time, and Luton poured forward, sent cross after cross into the air and went close to snatching the unlikeliest of points.

Mauricio Pochettino could not believe it. Did Chelsea switch off after Cole Palmer ran through to score his second of the afternoon? Did they think that Luton, who had already given Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City a run for their money at Kenilworth Road, would lie down?

The problem with having such an inexperienced group of players is they lack the nous to judge the mood of the game.

It should have been a routine away win. Pochettino should have left with evidence of his young side growing, learning and building valuable momentum after a maddening start to the season.

Luton’s dramatic, if doomed, fightback merely left Pochettino with more questions.

Still, at least Chelsea ended a run of four consecutive away defeats, Palmer’s fine double and one goal for the resurgent Noni Madueke enough to keep Luton in the bottom three.

Pochettino’s side remain in 10th, the top four still out of reach, and this was the first time they had won back-to-back league games since early October.

The talent is undoubtedly lurking within this squad. Is the consistency?

For 70 minutes, this was a step in the right direction.

Chelsea took control from the start and Madueke, starting after his goalscoring cameo against Crystal Palace, immediately looked dangerous against Alfie Doughty on the right.

Thomas Kaminski had to save well after a run from Madueke ended with Conor Gallagher shooting at the Luton goalkeeper’s legs.

The financial mismatch began to feel overwhelming. Pochettino could afford to make four changes without really weakening his side. — Guardian.

Results Week 20

Luton Town 2 — 3 Chelsea Wolves 3 — 0 Everton Crystal Palace 3 — 1 Brentford Manchester City 2 — 0 Sheffield United Aston Villa 3 — 2 Burnley