Troubles off the pitch looked to have caught up with Chelsea on it, as they conceded two minutes into their FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Championship side Luton Town. Former West Ham United player Reece Burke gave Luton the lead by stealing a march on his marker during a corner and flicking the incoming delivery past Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal.
But, Chelsea responded to going in behind as one might expect a Premier League side to do. The Blues built up the pressure on their opponents, which ultimately paid off in the 27th minute when Saul Niguez pounced on a loose ball just outside the box and guided into the corner with the side of his foot. Surprisingly, Luton took the lead again with five minutes left to play in the first half; Harry Cornick timed his run in behind the Blues’ defense to perfection and slotted the ball past Kepa.
However, the tides turned in favor of Chelsea again in the second half. Pushing Luton deep inside their own half, the Blues equalized again in the 68th minute through Timo Werner, who brought down a long pass from Ruben Loftus-Cheek into his stride and caressed it past the custodian. Ten minutes later, Werner turned provider to Romelu Lukaku, and the German’s pinpoint, low cross was turned in by the Belgian to make it 3-2 to Chelsea – a lead which they held onto until the final whistle.
Elsewhere, Takumi Minamino scored twice to help Liverpool through to the next round. The Reds faced Norwich City at Anfield in the fifth round and took the lead through the Japanese in the 27th minute when the attacker slammed the ball into the roof of the net from close range after some good hold-up play by Divock Origi. Minamino scored again in the 39th minute, bringing down the ball following a corner and firing it into the top corner from the right side of the box.
Lukas Rupp pulled a goal back for the Canaries in the 76th minute – the German beat Alisson from distance – but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback, and Liverpool moved on to the next round.
