Chelsea 3-1 Luton Town: 5 talking points as Tammy Abraham hat-trick inspires the Blues to victory | FA Cup 2020-21
Tammy Abraham was the star of the show as his hat-trick inspired Chelsea to a 3-1 victory over Luton Town in the FA Cup on a snow-covered Stamford Bridge.
The Blues started on the front foot against their Championship opponents and went ahead in the 11th minute.
A quick throw-in saw Timo Werner sprint forward to the byline, before cutting back for Tammy Abraham to put Chelsea ahead.
There were complaints about the goal from Luton as there seemed to be two balls in play at the time of the throw-in. However, referee David Coote was uninterested and allowed the goal to stand.
Chelsea doubled their lead just six minutes later when Reece James' lofted ball into the box was headed in by Abraham.
The visitors halved the deficit against the run of play when Jordan Clark converted in the box, although Kepa should have done better.
The second half saw Luton Town start brightly, and they managed to fashion some decent chances. Unfortunately for them, Kepa made up for his earlier errors with some fine saves.
However, any hopes for an unlikely comeback were squashed in the 74th minute. Some good interlink between Callum Hudson-Odoi and Billy Gilmour allowed Tammy Abraham to tap into an empty net for his hat-trick.
A late penalty was awarded to the hosts after Clark brought down Timo Werner with just the goalkeeper to beat.
The Germany international dusted himself off to take the spot-kick, but Simon Sluga produced a routine save to keep the scoreline as it was.
The win means that Chelsea have secured their place in the next round, where they will take on Barnsley.
Here, we shall have a rundown of five talking points from the fixture.
#5 Morale-boosting victory for Chelsea
Chelsea came into this game on the back of a debilitating defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League.
That loss added more pressure to the Blues, and they would have been seeking a convincing performance against the Hatters to boost confidence in the squad.
As it happened, Chelsea got the job done, and their progress to the next round keeps hopes alive for a trophy win this season.
Despite Luton not being the most high-profile opponents for Chelsea, victory was all that mattered for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
They will be looking to keep this momentum going when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
#4 Mixed performance from Kepa
Kepa's indifferent form since signing for Chelsea has seen him lose his number one spot at both club and international level.
The 26-year-old was has been relegated to cup competitions at Stamford Bridge and was handed a rare opportunity to impress against Luton Town.
However, it was a case of mixed emotions for the Spain international, as an error led to the visitors pulling one goal after half an hour.
He failed to get a strong hand on what should have been a relatively straightforward save. However, he made amends with some fine saves in the second half as Luton grew into the game.
On the overall balance of play, Kepa did not do too much to stake a genuine claim for his starting shirt, although Chelsea had him to thank for keeping them ahead in the second half.