Chelsea vs Luton player ratings: Sterling at the double to seal first win

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Chelsea ran out 3-0 victors to earn first three points of the 2023/24 campaign after two disappointing results.
Two brilliant goals from Sterling and Jackson’s first in Chelsea colours sealed the spoils as he was awarded Man of the Match.
Luton looked very off the pace and extend their streak in the Premier League to two losses on the bounce.

Chelsea player ratings: Raheem Sterling was at the races throughout

Contents

1 Chelsea player ratings: Raheem Sterling was at the races throughout
- 1.1 Substitutes
2 Luton player ratings: Tahith Chong gets an A+ for his work rate
- 2.1 Substitutes
3 Chelsea vs Luton match summary and highlights:
4 Player of the match: Raheem Sterling

Robert Sanchez 6.5/10 – Comfortable when tested but had a very quiet night.

Axel Disasi 5/10 – Still settling in and looked very shaky in possession.

Thiago Silva 6.5/10 – Reminds me of a fine wine. No signs of age in the Brazilian, apart from his pace. But he was never exactly rapid.

Levi Colwill 7/10 – Dealt with high-pressure situations very well. A cultured performance.

Malo Gusto 7.5/10 – Provided some attacking threat but still a lot of work to do Chelsea will miss Reece James, a lot. Two assists.

Conor Gallagher 7.5/10 – Incredible work out of possession and is proving his worth to Mauricio Pochettino.

Enzo Fernandez 7/10 – Played in a more advanced role than Gallagher. Wasn’t as impactful as usual. Could’ve had a couple of goals in fairness.

Moises Caicedo 6.5/10 – Endured a wobbly start but grew into the game. Will take some more time to become the Caicedo we all know and love.

Ben Chilwell 6/10 – Looked a bit lost at times and not up to his usual standards. Lack of service as the majority of play was down Sterling’s right.

Raheem Sterling 9.5/10 – The host’s live wire throughout. Involved in all three goals. Hats off to you, Raheem!

Nicolas Jackson 7/10 – Great running and tenacity on the ball in the early stages. Left his shooting boots in the car until 15 minutes to play.

Substitutes

Lesley Ugochukwu 3/10 – Little time to impress.

Ian Maatsen 3/10 – Little time to impress.

Mason Burstow – N/A

Luton player ratings: Tahith Chong gets an A+ for his work rate

Thomas Kaminski 6/10 – Responded well to Raheem Sterling’s early thunderstrike. Unlucky to concede three.

Reece Burke 5.5/10 – Probably Luton’s best defender. Hooked on the 77th minute.

Tom Lockyer 4.5/10 – Picked up the first yellow of the night. Looked off the pace the most part, especially in the first half.

Amari’i Bell 5/10 – One of the busier Luton players on the evening. Struggled with the pace and power of Sterling.

Ryan Giles 4/10 – Gave little help to Bell to contain Sterling. Should’ve done better with his shot and even potentially scored.

Tahith Chong 6.5/10 – The former Manchester United man was energetic and gave Chelsea’s midfield three something to think about. Didn’t get a full 90.

Marvelous Nakamba 5/10 – Carded. Very underwhelming performance.

Ross Barkley 4.5/10 – Sadly didn’t get the return he would have wished for. Or that 90^th minute equaliser. An occasion to forget.

Issa Kabore 6/10 – Caused a few issues but had little luck in an attacking sense.

Elijah Adebayo 6/10 – Very strong and imposing against Disasi.

Carlton Morris 5.5/10 – Hardly involved and didn’t work in tandem with Adebayo. Much better in the second half, mind.

Substitutes

Jacob Brown 3/10 – Carded

Alfie Doughty 3.5/10 – Looked to create

Mads Juel Andersen – N/A

Chiedozie Ogbene – N/A

Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu – N/A

Chelsea vs Luton match summary and highlights:

Chelsea welcomed Premier League newbies to Stamford Bridge for their first domestic outing to the west London-based stadium, while both teams are winless in their two games so far this campaign.

Sterling nearly opened the scoring in the sixth minute, though his volleyed rocket was stopped by Kaminski. Expectedly, the hosts played it patient with the majority of possession, though to no avail.

A lovely combination of passes between Colwill, Jackson, Chilwell and Fernandez resulted in a blazed effort over the bar. Just minutes later, however, was Sterling’s mazy run through a flurry of Luton opposition combined with a smooth finish opened the scoring.

As the half-time whistle neared, the visitors grew into proceedings and posed more of a threat in the final third, though it remained 1-0 as the two London outfits went in for their sliced oranges.

In the second-half, Chilwell’s poor decision making stopped it from becoming 2-0 as he attempted to set a teammate in rather than let rip himself. Luton’s best opportunity of the evening came as Giles fired one down the throat of Sanchez just before the hour mark.

A string of quick passes opened the space for Sterling in the centre and Gusto’s pinpoint delivery set the Englishman up for his second. Sterling then became the creator and set up Jackson, who let out a sigh of relief as the ball hit the back of the net.

A fabulous showing allowed Chelsea to steal all the spoils, while Luton’s worrying run continues.

Player of the match: Raheem Sterling

Couldn’t be anyone else really, could it?

The English international’s opener was vintage Sterling and perhaps a sign of what the Stamford Bridge faithful can expect this season. He was the centrepiece to Chelsea’s blueprint in the first half. Even in the second half when Luton gained much more control in the game, Sterling was still the west Londoner’s outlet in the offensive phase and even nicked Chelsea’s second of the affair.

Oh, and he set up Chelsea’s third.