One Argentinian is about to arrive and another looks destined for the exit. Chelsea have dealt with their most glaring weakness, Xabi Alonso’s desire for a new goalkeeper satisfied by the club rushing to agree a £7.5m deal for Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez, and it seems likely another nagging headache is about to ease. Enzo Fernández was absent as Chelsea eased into the third round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win over Luton Town.
Manchester City are closing in on a deal for the midfielder but Alonso will be glad once the saga is over. Chelsea can do without the circus around Fernández. They showed the right attitude against Luton and were inspired by Danny Welbeck, still going strong at 35 and in the right place to open this tie up with his first goal for his new side.
Alonso is making the moves of a manager determined to lay down a marker. It is not just how he has attacked the goalkeeping situation, even if the brutal response to Robert Sánchez’s skittish display in the win over Fulham on Monday certainly underlines the increased sense of urgency at Chelsea. There was a frisson of excitement before kick-off here, news of the opportunistic swoop for Martínez well received by home fans, and it was also intriguing to see Alonso pick such a strong line-up given his side’s heavy workload this week.
It felt unfair for Luton to have to find a way to keep Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer quiet during a first half in which the shot count was 17-3 in Chelsea’s favour. The pressure was relentless, although the visitors refused to roll over. Jack Wilshere’s players threw themselves in front of shot after shot, they blocked crosses and they cut out through balls, and they were helped by some inspired goalkeeping from Josh Keeley.
An early double stop from Palmer was a highlight and a leaping save to keep out a free-kick from Reece James was another. Luton lived on the edge at times. Welbeck, making his first start for Chelsea since joining from Brighton, pressed to win possession and had a shot blocked.
Estêvão Willian broke down the right just before half-time and cut the ball back for Rogers, whose instant effort crashed back off the bar. Alonso must have anticipated the quick kill. It was a surprise that James started for the second time in three days given his injury problems.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
