Chelsea 3-0 Luton Town
by Amar Azam
at Stamford Bridge
THE gulf in class between these two clubs was clearly evident as Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively assembled Chelsea, continuing their transformation in the Todd Boehly era, won comfortably against league newcomers Luton Town at the weekend.
The vocal travelling supporters proudly roared on their team to the end. However, it’s clear that, even at this early stage in the season, it could be a long and difficult one for the Bedfordshire club.
“Conference champions, you’ll never sing that,” ironically chanted the 3,054 visiting supporters at the Chelsea fans. Whatever the campaign holds in store, it’s been a long wait for a return to top-flight football and Hatters’ fans clearly intend to enjoy every moment from this season.
This was a far from polished display from Chelsea’s players. At one goal down, which is how they remained until the 68th minute when winger Raheem Sterling netted a second to add to his brilliant first, there was a glimmer of hope that the visitors could claw their way back into the match. The win was complete when striker Nicolas Jackson scored the home side’s third on 75 minutes.
Sterling’s performance stood out for a renewed sense of confidence. We’ve not seen the best from the player in the shirt of Chelsea, but at the age of 28, he offers much for Pochettino. Afterwards, Sterling acknowledged his own aspirations for the season.
“I want to get back to being obsessed with football, football 24/7, and nothing else, he said. “Top performances, goals and assists. A lot has happened in my career, I have had a new challenge which has been difficult, and your head can become blurry.”
Luton Town’s manager Rob Edwards, an animated presence on the touchlines throughout, couldn’t fault the defiance and spirit of his players at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “I saw we can compete with a top, top team for massive spells of the game, so that's a huge thing to be proud of and to take positives from.”
Luton Town welcome supporters to their Kenilworth Road home for the first time this week, starting with a visit of Gillingham in the League Cup. However, all eyes will be on the Premier League tie with West Ham United on Friday night, the club’s first top flight match since being relegated in May 1992.
Chelsea play AFC Wimbledon this week in the League Cup before playing a match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
