It was never going to be easy. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich put his team under tremendous pressure as he announced just 60 minutes before kickoff that he was selling the club that he’s owned since 2003. Thomas Tuchel’s side already had its work cut out for it with a number of key players missing through either fatigue or injury. Nevertheless, the Blues were able to come from behind on two occasions and narrowly defeat Luton Town away from home on a cold, wet night 35 miles north of England’s capital.
The Championship side took the lead in the 2′ via a corner as Reece Burke rose above Malang Sarr to fire the Hatters ahead. Saul responded with a goalazo to open his Chelsea account 25 minutes later before the French centerback inexplicably gave away the lead again. The Blues went into halftime 2-1 down and the scoreline remained unchanged until Timo Werner came to life and leveled the match with 25 minutes remaining in the cup tie. The German found the feet of Romelu Lukaku 10 minutes later with his sumptuous cross and the Belgian made no mistake. In the end, it was a victory that showed a lot of character from the away side under tough circumstances.
Here is how each player fared as Chelsea booked its place in the FA Cup quarterfinals:
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 6/10
Kepa Arrizabalaga needed a rock-solid performance to bounce back from the letdown at the weekend. Unfortunately, he did not have a great outing. The Spaniard watched helplessly as two goals found the back of the net in the first half. To his defense, the back line in front of him was the definition of provisional, but Arrizabalaga didn’t do much to cover himself in glory either. It was a quiet second half where the No. 2 shot-stopper didn’t have much to do. Arrizabalaga did just enough in the game to see the Blues through, which is what was essentially asked of him.
Antonio Rudiger (Right centerback): 7.5/10
This wasn’t the best Antonio Rudiger performance we’ve ever seen. Then again, was it ever going to be? Rudiger was the only starting defender with an abundance of game time as of late and he looked the part of the experienced, level-headed (as much as the German can be) centerhalf. Rudiger was strong when called into action and he didn’t put a foot wrong, unless you count the long range effort he tries every game, which failed to hit the target. Solid outing from Rudiger.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Centerback): 8.5/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek wasn’t solely responsible for the Blues conceding two first half goals, nor was he not responsible, if that makes sense. Loftus-Cheek’s communication with his “fellow defenders” was shaky to start. He grew into the game though, especially in the second half. The English midfielder began to be a catalyst late on when he made surging runs from deep to spark attacks. It was his ball over the top from the centerback position that saw Werner through on goal to level the match for a second time. Loftus-Cheek was pushed into midfield later in the match, where he continued to put on a show. The 26-year-old was a savior of sorts on the night.
Malang Sarr (Left centerback): 3/10
It was a shocking game for the Frenchman, easily his worst during his time at Chelsea. Sarr’s poor marking led to the opener from a corner in the 2′ and he inexplicably played Harry Cornick onside for the second goal. The communication was understandably missing in this one with a makeshift back line, but this was a huge opportunity for the 23-year-old to step up and leave his mark on the campaign—he failed miserably. Nevertheless, his awful outing at Luton cannot be allowed to overshadow the utility man’s usefulness throughout the season.