Mauricio Pochettino stayed positive after Chelsea almost squandered a 3-0 lead over Luton during a pulsating encounter at Kenilworth Road.
A stunning comeback was on the cards when Luton responded to a double from Cole Palmer and a fine effort from Noni Madueke with goals from Ross Barkley and Elijah Adebayo. However Chelsea, who remain 10th, managed to cling on and their young side ended a dismal year by halting a run of four consecutive away defeats.
“I am so pleased,” Pochettino said. “It is never easy. We needed to win. I think we controlled the game until the second half. Then when you concede you increase the belief of the opponent. The Premier League is like this. If you see the previous [Luton] games like Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle you can see the difficulty of playing here. It is a team that really believes in the way they play. It is always tough to play here.”
Palmer has eight league goals since joining from Manchester City – “Such an important player for us,” Pochettino said – and his second here came after he rounded Luton’s goalkeeper, Thomas Kaminski, before stroking the ball into the net.
“When I took it round the keeper I thought the other guy would come across really fast,” he said, “so I just waited until I had time to put it in. Hopefully this is just the start. I’m adapting to a new life – my teammates, the city, everything’s new to me – and hopefully I can show more on the pitch,” he said.
Rob Edwards was able to take heart from a spirited Luton display, even though his side remain in the bottom three. “A little bit of a game of what if?” he said. “The performance was brilliant. I know they went 3-0 up so it will change perceptions. It was difficult to find a way through in the first half. We gifted them the first goal.
“We were incredibly brave. For the players to go and do what they did shows they’re special. We showed fight, we showed quality. We took more of the ball than they did. We were really brave. We wrestled the game back. Edwards reflected on his side needing to show more of a ruthless edge in both boxes. We keep learning and improving,” he said. “I’m seeing a lot of stuff I like. The Premier League is hard to keep clean sheets. Zeroes and ones give you a chance.”
