LONDON: Raheem Sterling scored twice and set up the third goal to help Chelsea beat Luton 3-0 in the Premier League on Friday and give Mauricio Pochettino his first win as Blues manager.
Nicolas Jackson added his first Chelsea goal in the 75th after being on hand to tap in a low cross from Sterling, helping ease concerns about Chelsea's scoring prowess following a loss and a draw in the team's opening two games of the season.
“I’m so happy because it is important to have that winning feeling again,” Pochettino said. "It is always good when the offensive players are involved in the goals.”
Sterling had been one of the few bright spots for Chelsea in those games and again looked back to his best in giving the hosts the lead with a superb solo effort in the 17th.
Picking up the ball wide on the right, he drove in from the wing with purpose, darting into the box and cutting inside three defenders before sliding a left-footed finish past goalkeeper Thomas Kaminsky.
His second came after more Chelsea pressure in the second half. Malo Gusto whipped a low ball into the box to a wide-open Sterling, who swept it home into the bottom corner.
Stamford Bridge suddenly found its mood transformed, and within minutes it was three. Enzo Fernandez sent a clever spinning ball up to Sterling, whose cross took a slight deflection before finding Jackson in front of the net.
Pochettino said he was pleased for Jackson to get off the mark, and predicted there are more goals to come for the forward, who was signed this summer and is the team's only fit striker at the moment.
“He’s amazing. It’s difficult to find a player like him in the market," Pochettino said. "For me he’s going to be one of the great strikers. He has the potential to be.”
It was a second straight loss for promoted Luton, whose first home game of the season was postponed last weekend because of ongoing work on its home stadium to get it up to Premier League standards.