Friday’s 3-0 rout of Luton by Chelsea, driven by a brace from Raheem Sterling and a strike from Nicolas Jackson, gave Mauricio Pochettino his first Premier League victory as Blues manager.
Sterling continued his strong start to the season with a brilliant performance that included a brilliant first goal, a well-taken second goal, and then an assist for Jackson.
The England forward’s resurgence is the first indication that Pochettino is beginning to revitalize a group that suffered so much the previous year.
Sterling’s career seemed to be in risk of stalling after a forgettable first season at Chelsea, but Pochettino, who just took over in July, has already brought out the best in him.
I arrived to Chelsea at a challenging time mentally. The most important thing is that, after taking stock of my life, I want to return to my former level of football mania, plain and simple, Sterling stated.
You sometimes need that clear eyesight since your head might be a little fuzzy. At the age of 28, my passion for football is too great for it to fade.
“Raheem needs to feel the confidence and be free on the pitch,” Pochettino said. He deserves to keep playing and continue to contribute goals and assists, and I’m extremely happy for him.
After Jackson scored his first goal, Pochettino hailed him as a potential star, saying: “He is going to score goals, it’s just a matter of time, and he can be one of the greatest strikers in the Premier League.”
Pochettino will be hoping that Chelsea’s first home victory since March jumpstarts his reign after a 1-1 draw with Liverpool and a 3-1 loss at West Ham.
But for the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager, who is now fielding a revamped side with a young aspect, it is still early.
Due to injuries, Pochettino was missing nine members of his first team, including captain Reece James, summer acquisitions Christopher Nkunku, and Romeo Lavia.
Just the beginning
Moises Caicedo of Ecuador, a midfielder, performed well in his debut Chelsea start after his British record $115 million transfer from Brighton.
Caicedo had an awful start against West Ham, giving up a penalty and seeming shaky after coming off the bench, but this was a more consistent performance.
“We can leverage the trust and confidence this win will bring in the future. It was crucial to win tonight because, as I observed, Chelsea had lost nine or ten straight games, according to Pochettino.
“It’s only the beginning, and we still have a lot of work to do to play the way we want to,” the players said, “but their commitment is fantastic.”
While promoted Luton has a more modest goal of avoiding relegation, Chelsea has high hopes after spending more than £350 million on new acquisitions since the conclusion of the previous season.
This was the first of the glamorous matches Luton had envisioned back when they were struggling in non-league obscurity only nine years earlier, after spending 31 years outside the top division.
Being the smallest team to ever compete in the Premier League, Luton is a strong favorite to be relegated, and they have already lost their first two games.
In the 17th minute, Sterling scored the game’s first goal in spectacular manner. He cut in from the right wing, slaloming past three perplexed Luton players before putting a beautiful low finish into the far corner.
Ryan Giles almost gave Luton a shocking equalizer against the odds when he collected a feed from Elijah Adebayo and blasted a deflected shot that forced a hasty save from Robert Sanchez.
Sterling, though, made sure Chelsea’s superiority would not go unnoticed by scoring their decisive second goal in the 68th minute.
Malo Gusto assisted by sending in a low cross, which Sterling received and coolly finished from eight yards out.
A teaser cross from Sterling seven minutes later evaded the Luton defense, and Senegal attacker Jackson quickly pushed the ball in from close range.