LUTON, England, Dec 30 — Chelsea survived a late Luton Town fightback to return to winning ways on the road today with a 3-2 win at Kenilworth Road, with Cole Palmer netting twice either side of a fine Noni Madueke strike.
The expensively assembled Blues had lost their previous four Premier League away games but looked certain to claim all three points when they were 3-0 up with little more than 10 minutes of normal time remaining.
Palmer put the Blues ahead in the 12th minute when he pounced on an error by Luton defender Issa Kabore to unleash a fierce angled shot that flew past Thomas Kaminski.
Luton were caught out in the 37th minute when Chelsea left-back Levi Colwill fed Palmer on the break and his pass found Madueke who created just enough space to fire high into Kaminski’s net.
Nicolas Jackson returned the favour for the third goal when he split Luton's defence to find Palmer who kept his cool to round Kaminski and hold off a gaggle of defenders to slot home in the 70th minute.
Former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley scored what looked like a consolation goal for the hosts when he headed in from an Alfie Doughty corner in the 80th minute. Seven minutes later Elijah Adebayo reduced the deficit to one goal, but Luton failed to get an equaliser.
The win left Chelsea in 10th place while Luton remain in the relegation zone in 18th spot. — Reuters
