Chelsea 3-0 Luton Town: 3 Blues who impressed

Blues across the globe took a collective sigh of relief as Chelsea finally managed to grab their first win of the new campaign. Mauricio Pochettino’s men ran out 3-0 winners against Luton Town at Stamford Bridge providing us with plenty to remark upon. The game served as a much-needed relief after the Londoners’ tame display at West Ham.

Instead of chiseling away at a low block to little avail, Chelsea adopted a front-foot approach against the Hatters. There was an obvious offensive emphasis from the go and a bit more urgency about their play. Periods of ponderous possession remained, but overall, the home side was certainly more potent going forward.

The first two goals came from quick exchanges amongst the midfielders before switching play out to wide areas. There’s still work to be done in enforcing these automatisms at a greater pace. The finishing is also in dire need of immediate improvement. But as far as early indications go, things are looking positive for this young Chelsea team.

In the end, the game did boil down to some solid individual performances making all the difference. Here are the three Blues that caught my eye.

3 Chelsea players who impressed  vs Luton Town

Levi Colwill

Sporting the iconic 26 on his back, the center-back was immense throughout the match. Despite being deployed in a wider role than he’s used to, Colwill barely put a foot wrong. His game reading was top-notch, and so was his composure under pressure.

What really caught my eye were his first touches. The 20-year-old brought the ball down with great ease on numerous occasions. It allowed him to create excellent passing angles, and his wand of a left foot did the rest.

Conor Gallagher

The midfielder gets his fair share of flak from Chelsea fans and for valid reasons too. I myself have been critical of the 23-year-old’s uneasiness in the first phase. But what he lacks in attacking impetus, he makes up for in sheer work-rate. Gallagher’s engine is genuinely astounding at times.

He covered an impressive amount of ground against Luton and managed seven ball recoveries in total. Beyond the statistics, it was the timing of these recoveries that proved impactful. He broke up the visitor’s play at crucial points of their build-up, effectively quelling some dangerous situations.

He can still offer more in advanced positions and take a bit of care with his passes. Nevertheless, I’m very happy to see him do well under Pochettino.

Raheem Sterling

The Blues’ No.7 blessed our eyes with flashes of his older self. Sterling was at his rapid best throughout the game, offering some much need creativity to the team.

Brimming with confidence, the forward’s electric burst and delicate finish earned him a lovely first goal. His positioning was behind the second, while his instinctive play made the third. This display was closest we’ve come to seeing Sterling in full flow.  There’s some genuine talismanic potential within the England International.