Luton Town vs Chelsea. Premier League.
Kenilworth Road.
Report and free match highlights as Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer's double give Chelsea narrow 3-2 win at Luton; hosts come close to stunning comeback as Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo struck late but Blues hold on at Kenilworth Road
Saturday 30 December 2023 18:47, UK
Chelsea held off a late Luton fightback to end a run of four away defeats with goals from Noni Madueke and two from Cole Palmer earning a 3-2 win at Luton.
The Blues have endured an annus horribilis, losing more Premier League games (19) than anyone else across the calendar year, but battled to victory at Kenilworth Road despite nearly throwing away a three-goal lead in the closing stages.
They had Luton to thank for a bright start in Bedfordshire, with Issa Kabore's inviting pass out from the back picked off by Palmer who arrowed home the opener after 12 minutes.
Madueke's driven near-post second, eight minutes before the break, gave Luton a real uphill task though the hosts always looked capable of getting themselves back into the game.
That finally looked out of sight when Nicolas Jackson released Palmer to coolly round Kaminski and slot home a third with 20 minutes to go, though Elijah Adebayo briefly gave them hope with a close-range header - only for VAR to spot a narrow offside in the build-up.
That hope turned to real belief when Ross Barkley's near-post header nestled in the far corner with 10 minutes to go, and six minutes later Adebayo nodded home Alfie Doughty's rebound to get Kenilworth Road rocking.
But Chelsea finally showed the resilience they have lacked for much of this season to hold on to victory to pick up a first three points on the road since November 6, and leave Luton stranded in the bottom three.
Chelsea's 2023 could hardly get any worse than one where they have lost nearly double as many Premier League games as they have won, despite their squad cost ballooning beyond £1bn in that time.
A trip to resurgent Luton appeared an obvious banana skin but they were given an early shot in the arm when Kabore's ill-advised pass from his own six-yard box only reached Palmer, who finished strongly across Kaminski from 20 yards.
The hosts gave as good as they got but found a visiting defence unusually resilient to the Hatters' bombardment of crosses.
Chelsea's attack was also in an unfamiliarly clinical mood, as Madueke turned down the outside of Gabriel Osho and drilled a rising second in at Kaminski's near post eight minutes before the interval.
A double switch at the break helped Luton build momentum in the final third, though it was Chelsea who again showed their cutting edge to seemingly put the game to bed with 20 minutes remaining.
Palmer slotted home calmly after rounding Kaminski from Jackson's pinpoint through-ball, though Adebayo briefly raised hopes of a comeback when turning home Doughty's cross until VAR spotted a offside against the latter.
Barkley did get the home crowd back on its feet when his firm header beat Petrovic from Doughty's corner, and two more home efforts against the crossbar raised the atmosphere to raucous levels before Adebayo's close-range second brought Luton back within touching distance late on.
Finally Mauricio Pochettino opted to add to his defensive ranks and from then on Chelsea saw out victory in relative comfort, leaving Luton battered and bruised - but with a victory to point to a better 2024 than the last miserable 12 months.
Luton manager Rob Edwards:
"It was a game of what if, if only. The performance was brilliant. They went 3-0 up which changed perceptions but we were very brave. They defended very well, and they're good players - it's difficult to get through players like Thiago Silva.
"We were aggressive, front foot, we gifted them the opener and the second was brilliant skill from Madueke.
"We started the second half with great intent, made some changes and really attacked the game and continued to attack it. The third goal was avoidable but we were in the ascendency.
"Chelsea could go four, five, six up from then and we've seen that against better teams than us, but for our team to go and do what we did shows how special they are. I'll sleep easier tonight for that rather than getting beaten by four or five. We showed quality, heart and took the ball - more than they did."
On January business: "We won't come out of January weaker. It's important we stick together, we're a tight group with an amazing spirit.
"I know there's some people who will be frustrated and disappointed and January can bring some unease around. I don't like it as a manager. I've said no-one leaves unless I say so, you can see the impact our substitutes have.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino:
"I am so pleased, I think it's never easy, we needed to win and we controlled the game until the second half, about 60-65 minutes. It was a positive performance, I'm so happy. But when you concede it increases the opponent's belief.
"You can see it's difficult to play here, you've seen it against other teams - Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal. They have very good players and a very good coach, we needed the three points and we got what we wanted.
"Football is always about emotions, emotion that when you are winning 3-0 you are nervous because different situations can happen. Then we conceded a goal, their belief increased, and in the Premier League too many times that happen. Brighton were winning 4-0 against Tottenham and it was 4-2, the Premier League is tough."
On January business: "Of course we always have good communication. We are not worried about that, we are going to assess now, we have a few days, but the plan is to talk and see if we need to do something or not. The most important thing in my opinion is to work with the squad we have, it's a very good squad and now it's about pushing them to step up.
"I really believe in my squad, it's the circumstances we need to recover from. Injuries have given us some set-backs, like Lavia. It's about being focused on helping the young players and the not-so-young players improve."
Luton's next game is at home to Bolton on Sunday January 7 in the FA Cup third round; kick-off 2pm.
The Hatters then travel to Burnley in the Premier League on Monday January 15; kick-off 7.45pm.
Chelsea are next in action on Saturday when they host Preston in the FA Cup third round; kick-off 5.30pm.
The Blues then face an away game against Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday January 9, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
