Raheem Sterling scored twice to continue his fine start to the Premier League season as Chelsea overcame early nerves to beat Luton 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
A game that had threatened to drift into familiar goal-shy territory for Mauricio Pochettino’s side came alive midway through the second half when Sterling swept home his second of the match, that after he had broken the deadlock in the 17th minute with a superb solo effort.
And goalscorer turned provider minutes later when he crossed for Nicolas Jackson to knock in his first Chelsea goal and hand the hosts their first three-goal victory in the league since beating Wolves last October.
Until that flourish, Rob Edwards’ side had inflicted familiar feelings of frustration on home fans who witnessed their team struggle to open up the top-flight newcomers, until Sterling’s brilliance finally helped them cement their dominance and hand Pochettino his first win in charge.
Chelsea’s first chance fell after just six minutes. Luton failed to clear decisively after a free-kick from the right, and coming onto the ball with a thunderous volley from 12 yards was Sterling. His drive was clean and true, but Thomas Kaminski was its equal with a superb piece of handling to cling on to the ball.
Moises Caicedo, fresh from conceding a penalty on his debut against West Ham, showed more jitters on his first home start when he allowed Tahith Chong to dispossess him inside his own half. The Luton winger left his opponent on the turf and raced away before arcing a shot wide of goal to spare the blushes of Chelsea’s record buy.
It had been an urgent if not wholly assured start by Chelsea. On 14 minutes, Ben Chilwell linked up well with Jackson to provide Enzo Fernandez with a sight of goal. The World Cup-winner’s shot was taken early with his instep, curling past the angle of post and bar.
The opening goal was all Sterling’s own work. Picking up the ball wide on the right from Malo Gusto’s pass, he drove in from the wing with purpose, darting into the box and cutting inside three defenders before sliding a fine left-footed finish past Kaminsky.
The second half sustained the pattern of Chelsea pressure. First, Ben Chilwell played a one-two with Jackson and went through on goal, only to pick the wrong option and look for a pass instead of taking the shot on. Then Jackson himself tried to beat Kaminski at the near post, a challenge the Luton goalkeeper stood up to well.
Caicedo’s inclusion had meant a more advanced role for Fernandez, and the Argentinian appeared determined to make amends for his costly penalty miss against West Ham. He was the next to go close, arriving at the back post to meet Sterling’s superb low ball into the box. Kaminski, increasingly exposed as the game wore on, beat the ball to safety.
But as long as Chelsea’s dominance failed to yield a second, Luton’s threat lingered. Their moment looked to have arrived on the hour mark. Carlton Morris held the ball up well inside the box and helped work the ball via Elijah Adebayo into the feet of Ryan Giles, whose driven effort looked destined to fizz beyond Robert Sanchez until Gusto’s heroic last-ditch block deflected it into the Chelsea goalkeeper’s arms.
Much of the hosts’ attacking play had suffered from attempts to overcomplicate, but there was nothing of that about their second. Gusto, a lively forward threat all night pushing up from wing-back, whipped the ball into the box low and with a cool sweep of the right boot Sterling guided the cross into the bottom corner to finally settle Chelsea’s nerves.
Stamford Bridge suddenly found its mood transformed, and within minutes it was three. Fernandez, looking settled now in his new role, sent a clever spinning ball up to Sterling, who was almost nonchalant as he pulled it out of the air and drilled it in for Jackson crash home his first goal in blue.
It was a stylish goal, the kind supporters were once used to in this part of west London. They will hope that a corner has finally been turned.
Flick: Barcelona need to learn how to win without Yamal
Hansi Flick has urged Barcelona to find a way to win without the absent Lamine Yamal, as he misses a second consecutive match with an ankle injury.
The 17-year-old missed their 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad which halted Barca's seven-match winning streak in all competitions before the international break.
Yamal has only missed two LaLiga matches since the start of last season, while Barcelona have lost both games this campaign in which he has not started, after coming off the bench in a 4-2 loss to Osasuna in September.
Flick said that his players need to show that they can win without their teenage sensation.
"Tomorrow I will put the question to the team, it will be a very good question for them [if they can win without Yamal]," Flick told a press conference on Friday.
"Against Real Sociedad, we didn't play well, and it wasn't because of Lamine's absence. He is a very important player for us, but we have options to also play well without him.
"He won't be able to play tomorrow, we don't know when he will be able to go back from his injury, but what is clear for me is that we want him to be back only when he is 100% recovered."
Yamal played a big role in Spain's European Championship title win earlier this year in Germany, winning the best goal and the Young Player of the Tournament award in his breakthrough campaign.
He continued to thrive this season with five goals and seven assists to help Barca to the top of the LaLiga standings on 33 points, six ahead of rivals Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second place.
Yamal is also the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
Flick suggested that he may have to adjust his system, as it is hard to replace a player with such a mixture of speed, technique and finishing.
"We might be a bit limited by the absence of Lamine," Flick said.
"But we have a lot of players with great quality, and they can play in different positions. We'll see what we'll need and we'll design the game plan.
"It's always important after the international break to come back strong and with confidence. That's our goal for tomorrow."
'If we get relegated, I will be here', says Guardiola amid Man City charges
Pep Guardiola insisted he would stay with Manchester City even if the club is relegated as punishment for their alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
Guardiola, who joined City in 2016, signed a new two-year contract extension on Friday, ending speculation over his current deal that was due to expire at the end of the season.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
During his time in charge, the Spaniard has won 18 trophies, including six Premier League titles and their maiden Champions League crown last year.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
However, a hearing into Man City's 115 charges for allegedly breaking the Premier League's rules is also under way, but Guardiola said he will stay regardless of the outcome.
"I said that six months ago. If we get relegated, I will be here and next year we're going to come up to the Premier League. I knew it then, I feel it now," Guardiola said.
He also revealed that he agreed to fresh terms at the Etihad in less than two hours.
"I felt I should stay here. Of course, because they want me. For obvious reasons, for the results and because we've known each other for a long time," he added.
"All my decisions have been like that, what I feel in the moment. I don't pre-convince, I wait. I decided to stay here and in just two hours we did it [agreed the contract]."
City welcome Tottenham to the Etihad this weekend on the back of four consecutive defeats - Guardiola's longest losing run in his entire managerial career.
The Citizens last lost more consecutively between March and April 2006 under Stuart Pearce (six – the fifth game of which was also against Tottenham).
They have also won just three of their last 10 top-flight games against Tottenham (D2 L5) and are looking to win consecutive meetings with them for the first time since April 2019.
Despite their run of form, Guardiola was quick to point out his side's recent success, most notably becoming the first team to win four consecutive Premier League titles.
"When you are here for nine years, with a long time at one club, you live all the scenarios, all the situations," Guardiola said.
"You're able to lose four games in a row, but at the same time, you're able to win four Premier Leagues in a row.
"The difference is that most of the teams are able to lose four games in a row in different competitions, but just one team won four Premier Leagues in a row. So it happened.
"Did it happen in one season? No. When you've been somewhere eight or nine years, yeah, both sides of the run can happen."
Moca FC's Baez, Correa sanctioned by Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Carib Cup semis clash against Cavalier
The Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned players Miguel Baez and Jesus Correa of Dominican Republic club Moca FC for incidents that occurred during their Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final match against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on Thursday, October 30.
After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during its investigation and based on the competition regulations and the applicable disciplinary code, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed Miguel Baez a six-match suspension and Jesus Correa a three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The sanctions include the automatic one-match suspension for the on-field direct red cards given to each player during that 7-0 beating in Kingston.
Both Baez and Correa must serve their suspensions during the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place matches and future editions of the competition.
Moca FC is scheduled to meet Haiti's Real Hope FC in that home-and-away tie on November 26 and December 3 to determine the next Caribbean representative that will contest next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Finalists Cavalier and Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic, have secured automatic berths.
Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee has also warned the players and the club that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.
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