Chelsea 3-1 Luton: Player ratings as Tammy Abraham hat-trick fires Blues into 5th round
Chelsea booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup courtesy of a 3-1 win over Luton Town on Sunday.
Frank Lampard’s side began the game on top and took the lead in the tenth minute through Tammy Abraham, who dispatched Timo Werner’s cut-back with real composure. Abraham made it two with a deft header soon after, but Luton pulled one back shortly before the hour mark as Jordan Clark’s half-volley somehow found a way through Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Blues remained on top early after the break, with Christian Pulisic spurning a good chance to score, but Luton soon grew into the game and had Chelsea under real pressure. The Blues had to dig in and they eventually made it down the other end to allow Abraham to complete his hat-trick with a tap-in following a lovely team move.
Werner won a penalty late on and stepped up to take the effort, only to see his strike parried away by Luton’s Simon Sluga.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK) – 5/10 – 2019/20 called, they want their goalkeeping error back. Another weak hand from Kepa gave Luton a route back into the game, but he did at least make a huge save to stop the visitors from getting another
Reece James (RB) – 7/10 – Outstanding in attack but a little shaky in defence. His cross for Abraham’s second was beautiful and he created a handful of other good chances, but still looked to be feeling the effects of his injury at times.
Andreas Christensen (CB) – 6/10 – Looked a bit wobbly at times but did everything needed of him. Nothing to write home about, which for Christensen, is actually a good thing.
Kurt Zouma (CB) – 6/10 – Picked up a calf injury early on that made him look a little uncomfortable. Didn’t do Kepa any favours for the Luton goal.
Emerson (LB) – 7/10 – Not good enough for the Luton goal but was generally impressive one-on-one. Loved flying forward and was solid in the tackle.
Billy Gilmour (CM) – 8/10 – Another outstanding performance from McPirlo. So comfortable in possession and his desire to pass forwards was something Chelsea had been sorely lacking.
Mason Mount (CM) – 8/10 – Chelsea’s youngest captain since John Terry in 2002, Mount led by example. Buzzed around the field all game long and really looked up for the fight again. A worthy captain.
Hakim Ziyech (RM) – 7/10 – A couple of awkward passes but combined them with some moments of magic. Could have had a handful of assists and showed his vision with a quick throw-in for the first.
Christian Pulisic (LM) – 5/10 – Felt like a bit of a passenger at times. Spurned a handful of great chances to score and struggled to get into the game.
Timo Werner (AM) – 7/10 – Deployed in a central role, Werner relished the chance to buzz around the pitch. Drifted all over and was heavily involved in a lot of Chelsea’s attacks, but didn’t manage the same impact after the break. Not good enough with his penalty.
Tammy Abraham (ST) – 9/10 – Continued his claim to be Chelsea’s undisputed starter with another excellent performance. Deserved his hat-trick and took all three goals with real composure and class.
Callum Hudson-Odoi – 8/10
Kai Havertz – 6/10
Olivier Giroud – 6/10
Mateo Kovacic – 6/10