FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea picked up their first win of the Premier League season under the Friday night lights at Stamford Bridge, with Raheem Sterling inspiring the Blues to a 3-0 defeat of newly-promoted Luton Town.
The victory represents a first in competitive football for Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea manager, and only a fifth league win for Chelsea in this calendar year. Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Leicester City and AFC Bournemouth are the other four if you were wondering.
Chelsea threatened in the early stages as you’d expect, with Sterling missing the best early chance as he blasted a half volley at Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski.
It didn’t take long for Sterling to open the scoring for the night, though. Taking the ball from the right hand side, his settled position in this Pochettino team for now, Sterling dribbled through a host of players before slotting the ball into the far corner with his weaker left foot. Sterling is one of Chelsea’s most experienced players and has started this season leading by example.
Chelsea controlled the large part of the first half but it took them until the final third of the game to make sure of the points, after a brief threatening spell for Luton. Their most notable moment of the night perhaps came from a well worked move leading to an opportunity for Ryan Giles, who saw his effort deflected and saved by Robert Sanchez.
But it was Sterling who put the result beyond doubt with a well-taken second slotted home from a Malo Gusto cut-back, while the England international popped up with an assist for fan favourite Nicolas Jackson to score his first goal in Chelsea blue shortly after.
It was a much needed comfortable night for Pochettino’s Chelsea. Read on to see how the Blues rated on the night.
GK: Robert Sanchez – 6/10 – Made an important save from a deflected Ryan Giles shot in the second half but had little else to do outside of catch or punch some crosses.
CB: Axel Disasi – 7/10 – Untroubled and essentially anonymous, which is a compliment for a defender in a comfortable win.
CB: Thiago Silva – 7/10 – The Chelsea fans absolutely love him. Could still be playing football at 60 and be half decent.
CB: Levi Colwill – 7/10 – Has had a tough opening couple of weeks against Mohamed Salah and Michail Antonio, but saw more of his quality tonight on the left of a back three.
RWB: Malo Gusto – 8/10 – Will have tougher games at this level but you can see the quality he’ll offer when he develops. Threatening down the right in the absence of Reece James and notched a lovely assist for Sterling’s second.
CM: Moises Caicedo – 7/10 – Settled in to Chelsea blue pretty well here, playing a key pass for Gusto to square back to Sterling for Chelea’s second.
CM: Conor Gallagher – 7/10 – Looks set to stay at Chelsea beyond the end of the transfer window and seems to be figuring in Pochettino’s first choice XI consistently, starting again but alongside the busy Caicedo.
LWB: Ben Chilwell – 7/10 – Should have taken a shot when he had the chance in the 50th minute to seal the win but chose to square it to Sterling and the opportunity disappeared…much to the frustration of the home support who’ve not seen a ton of goals here in 2023.
RF: Raheem Sterling – 9/10 – Blasted an early volley straight at Kaminski but took his next chance on 17 minutes after a great run from the right. Rounded off a neat move in the second half to seal the win after a neat cut back from Gusto and even got the assist for Jackson. Has been Chelsea’s best player in the early part of the season and the match-winner here.
LAM: Enzo Fernandez – 8/10 – Started in a more advanced role on the left with Caicedo making his first start further back. Tucked in to the half space at times and showed his usual quality on the ball with some neat flicks and smart passes. Missed a good chance to score at the back post early in the second half.
ST: Nicolas Jackson – 8/10 – Still raw with his first touches and close control but has earned the hearts of the Chelsea fans early into his spell in west London. Always busy and threatening but importantly finished the night with his first Chelsea goal.
Substitutes
Lesley Ugochukwu (82′ for Jackson) – N/A
Ian Maatsen (85′ for Chilwell) – N/A
Mason Burstow (90′ for Sterling) – N/A
Subs not used: Lucas Bergstrom (GK), Eddie Beach, Bashir Humphreys, Marc Cucurella, Diego Moreira.
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino – 6/10 – Sticking with the system we’ve seen in the opening weeks and saw his side control the game from beginning to end, this time with some bite in attack. Three goals and a happy manager – but there’s tougher tests to come.
Player of the match – Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)
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