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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Ricky Charlesworth

Luton 2-3 Chelsea: Five talking points as Blues survive FA Cup scare in rollercoaster tie

Chelsea survived a banana skin to beat plucky Luton Town 3-2 in the FA Cup fifth round.

The Blues, who were still reeling from the news pre-match that owner Roman Abramovich has put the club up for sale, came from behind twice to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

Reece Burke, formerly of West Ham, nodded home inside two minutes to stun the world club champions.

It only served to heighten the atmosphere inside the ground but Chelsea rode it out and managed to level up on 27 minutes.

Forgotten man Saul Niguez restored parity with a classy finish. But Luton stormed back and re-took the lead just before half-time when Harry Cornick finished coolly after springing the offside trap.

Timo Werner made it 2-2 with a composed finish midway through the second half and Chelsea's quality ultimately told in the end with Romelu Lukaku tapping in from close range to give Chelsea the lead for the first time.

Here are five talking points to emerge from tonight's match.

What do you make of the ownership developments at Chelsea? Let us know in the comments

Respective fans make their feelings known

There was only one subject on the lips of Chelsea fans - and probably Luton supporters too - pre-match, and that was the announcement from Abramovich.

Chelsea fans were still digesting the news that they are up for sale as they filed into the away end.

Despite the criticism aimed at the Russian, Chelsea fans showed their appreciation for the 55-year-old throughout the game as the Bedfordshire air was filled with chants of "Roman Abramovich, Roman Abramovich.”

It was, predictably, booed by the home section at Kenilworth Road before they responded with a witty retort of "You're getting sold in the morning."

Wembley hangover evident

This game took place just three days after Chelsea's epic EFL Cup final clash against Liverpool.

The sapping 120 minutes against Jurgen Klopp's side was followed by an equally lengthy but unsuccessful penalty shoot-out.

Despite Thomas Tuchel making wholesale changes for this game (nine in total), Sunday's events will still have had an impact on his squad.

That was evident when Burke nodded home to shell-shock the Blues after just 102 seconds.

Despite getting the job done in the end, Chelsea were leggy, sloppy in possession and for large portions lacked a ruthlessness that this contest and atmosphere demanded.

Luton flourish in the limelight

The Hatters have been through some rough, rough times over the past few years.

Three successive relegations, administration and a prolonged stay in non-league wilderness didn't dampen the enthusiasm of their loyal supporters.

Slowly but surely, the club built itself back up and after a miraculous survival in their first season back in the Championship they are now looking upwards.

Boss Nathan Jones has built a competitive squad that belies their lowly budget - highlighted by the fact they occupy a play-off spot.

This was a night their fans have long yearned for, and the team didn't disappoint with a performance that will live long in the memory in these parts.

Lukaku and Werner wake up

Romelu Lukaku has been under the microscope ever since comments surfaced during an interview with Italian media last year.

He has hardly backed up his claims, with his only strikes in 2022 coming in the Club World Cup and this competition.

But he still had to be on alert to sniff out a poacher's finish to put the Blues 3-2 up.

As for Timo Werner, he has been equally castigated for failing to back up his inflated transfer fee.

There were shaky moments again here, but he did show a moment of class for Chelsea's second. The German cushioned a ball with his thigh and calmly placed the ball into the bottom-right corner.

Granted, goals against Championship opposition are not what these two will be judged by.

But it will no doubt give each player a much-needed morale boost.

RLC at CB?

It was a surprise to the BBC's commentary team and no doubt Chelsea fans too, when Ruben Loftus-Cheek appeared to start this game at centre-half.

The 26-year-old is more known for box-to-box runs than shackling opposition forwards, but Tuchel decided to deploy him at centre-back here.

He had a bit of a shaky start but then so did plenty of the Blues' team.

He grew into the role and even contributed an assist with a superb chipped pass to Werner for Chelsea's second.

He might not end up playing there too often, but with a clutch of centre-backs poised to exit Stamford Bridge in the summer Loftus-Cheek has certainly given his manager food for thought.

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