Chelsea bounced back from losing the Carabao cup final to Liverpool on Sunday with a hard fought win against in-form championship side, Luton Town.
The match went down under some tricky circumstances after news emerged of a potential sale as the club could be sold to new owners owning to the preeminent sanctions of the UK government on present owner Roman Abramovich.
With much distractions and uncertainty around the club, the brilliant form of Luton, and also a difficult weather, all seemed in place for a big “cupset” on Wednesday night and the match started in that fashion as Luton Town took the lead in the first 3 minutes of the game after a lovely set piece routine saw Recce Burke put Luton ahead.
Chelsea reacted well to going behind and finally leveled things up with a well taken curling effort from the edge of the box as Saul Niguêz scored his first FA cup goal.
With Chelsea level and pressing for a second in the first half, Luton had a lucky break and Malang Sarr’s late reaction to keeping the offside trap, Harry Cornick got free through on goal and placed the ball beautifully into the bottom right corner to give Luton an half time lead.
The second half started with Chelsea all gun-blazing and that pressure finally paid off with Werner placing Chelsea level once again. With extra-time looming, Chelsea seemed desperate to end things in regular time and did so in brilliant fashion after a lovely inter-change down the right hand side between James, Pulisic, Mount and Loftus-Cheek who beautifully found Werner in space and in turn played a sumptuous cross for a tap in for Lukaku.
Here are 5 things learned as Chelsea bounce back to win it late against Luton Town;
Another slow start in Cup
The slow start at Luton was reminiscent of the game against Plymouth Argle in the previous round of the FA cup. In that game at the Stamford Bridge, Chelsea also conceded early on and also through a set piece.
The game against Luton also turned out to be same and it is becoming somewhat of an habit in the FA cup this season with Chelsea being caught napping in the early potions of games and most especially through aerial balls in the air.
Future oppositions might have taken note of this occurrence and Chelsea might not be lucky enough to bounce back after a slow start.
Worthy of note though is the fact that Chelsea has made it to the final of every Cup competitions since Tuchel took charge of the reins in West London.
Once bitten, twice shy…twice bitten, lesson learnt I hope.
Sarr struggling with nerves
French defender, Malang Sarr once again struggled with his nerves against Luton and should count himself lucky as his lose touches and lack of concentration on numerous occasions almost gave the game back to Luton.
On one occasion, the former Porto man under no pressure whatsoever played a stray pass into the path of Luton’s striker before atoning with a perfectly timed slide-tackle.
In recent games, Sarr has been found wanting on occasions with his slow thinking frequently putting him in tight spaces with little or no options left.
Sarr should do more!
Saul fighting for Chelsea future
Atletico Madrid loanee, Saül Nigüêz had arguably his best game in a Chelsea shirt with his tenacity and desire to get into dangerous positions bearing fruit against Luton.
The Spaniard scored a beauty of a goal after the ball broke to him on the edge of the box as Werner had tried to beat his marker and Saul wasted no time as the ball found its way to him on the edge of the box with the Spanish international curling the ball with his weaker right foot into the bottom right corner.
His attitude was top notch all night and his relentless pressure brought about turnovers of possession on multiple times in the Luton half.
Saül surely wants a Chelsea stay and he’s not been shy from stating that as a fact.
Romelu and Werner work well again
The decision to play with a front two meant Tuchel went with two of his misfiring strikers.
Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner have both struggled for form and consistency this season with neither justifying their price tag so far.
Against Luton though, they once again showed the sort of partnership they could form with both players looking to play to each other’s strength.
Werner playing from the right and Lukaku from the other side meant they looked to cut in from the flanks.
Evidence of what the pairing could do was the third and winning goal as Werner played the perfect ball across the box for his strike partner tap home.
If all things goes well, Werner and Lukaku could just be the fruitful partnership Chelsea fans crave for.
Ruben on a different class
Academy product, Ruben Loftus Cheek played at a whole different level to others against Luton Town. Starting in an unfamiliar position as a center back didn’t deter the confidence of the midfielder as he ran the show from deep before moving into a more familiar position in midfield.
The former Fulham midfielder was a driving force from defence and his close control and dribbling ability ensured the blues could push further up the pitch whenever the England international got on the ball.
Ruben’s long pass from defence also split the Luton defence before Werner’s beautiful control with the thigh ensured he had time to place the ball beautifully into the bottom corner. RLC seemed full of running and he seems back to his old best with a mix of physical power and technique perfectly suited for Tuchel’s preferred system of a double pivot.
RLC is a midfield Rolls Royce.
Man of the match: RLC 10/10
