Chelsea survive Luton scare to win 5-goal thriller
Chelsea survived a late fightback from Luton to claim an important win in a thrilling game at Kenilworth Road.
The Blues started the match brightly and took the lead in the 12th minute, a poor clearance from Luton’s Issa Kabore handing the ball to Cole Palmer for the forward to drill low into the far corner past Thomas Kaminski.
Palmer was in the mix again as Chelsea doubled their lead when his pass set up Noni Madueke, who dribbled past Amari’i Bell and smashed the ball into the top corner.
In the second half, good work from Nicolas Jackson set up Palmer, who stayed calm to score the Blues’ third.
Luton thought they had pulled a goal back through Elijah Adebayo, but his header was ruled out for offside in the build-up before Ross Barkley then scored a header from Alfie Doughty’s corner.
Adebayo managed to find the net in the 87th minute with Luton’s second, setting up a nervous final few minutes for the visitors, but Chelsea were able to hold on to take the points.
The victory marks Chelsea’s second win in the space of a week as they look to climb up the Premier League table after a challenging 2023.
