The hosts opened the scoring early on through a spectacular solo effort from Raheem Sterling, who caused problems for the Hatters’ defence all evening.
A second goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s men came in the 68th minute when Sterling once again finished well from a Malo Gusto cross before a third goal came in the form of a Nicolas Jackson tap-in seven minutes later.
Rob Edwards made two changes to the side that lost at Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the season, with former Chelsea man Ross Barkley making his debut, coming in for Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu and Reece Burke coming back from injury to replace Mads Andersen.
Looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to West Ham last Sunday, Chelsea started the game in a fierce pursuit of a goal and almost found it just five minutes in when England international Sterling was played in down the right-flank, but a strong block from Hatters’ captain Tom Lockyer, denied the hosts an opener.
Minutes later, Sterling looked to have opened the scoring when his volley from the edge of the box fizzed through a host of Luton bodies, only to be denied by a stunning reflex from Thomas Kaminski.
Town’s first chance came in the eighth minute of the game when British record signing Moises Caicedo was dispossessed in midfield, sparking a quick reaction from Tahith Chong, who drove into the box, beating two players but firing his effort high and wide.
The momentum then fell back into Chelsea’s hands, with fine margins denying the Blues an opener, when some tricky play from the hosts saw the ball fall into the path of Enzo Fernandez inside the area, but the Argentinian fired his effort narrowly over the crossbar.
The Chelsea pressure continued to mount and the breakthrough came in the 17th minute when the lively Sterling dribbled past two Town players and calmly slotted his effort into the bottom-left corner to give the hosts the lead.
With set-pieces looking like the best chance of a Luton equaliser, Edward’s men came close to levelling the score in the 42nd minute when a Ryan Giles corner met the head of Barkley, but the 29-year-old’s near-post header rose just over the bar.
The second-half began as the previous half finished, with Chelsea keeping the ball well and looking to breakdown the Luton defence. Pochettino’s men should have doubled their advantage in the 50th minute when Ben Chilwell was released by a Jackson back-heel, but the marauding full-back opted to try square the ball instead of firing past Kaminski.
Looking to withstand the Chelsea pressure, the Hatters stayed compact, patiently waiting for their opportunity to break-away and their first chance of the half came in the 61st minute when a fierce strike from Giles deflected off Gusto, forcing an unsteady reflex save out of Robert Sanchez.
But the Chelsea pressure continued to wear on the Luton defence and what felt like an inevitable second goal for the blues came in the 68th minute when a whipped cross from Gusto fell into the path of Sterling once again, who finished well into the bottom corner to double the hosts' advantage.
Pochettino’s men smelt blood and found the net a third time, seven minutes later, when some technical play from Fernandez released Sterling down the right-flank, who squared into the path of Jackson for a tap-in at the back-post.
A chance of a consolation and something for the loud travelling fans to celebrate came late on for the Town in the 85th minute when Carlton Morris flicked the ball into the path of Jacob Brown, but the forward’s powerful effort rose over the crossbar.
Luton Town: Kaminski, Kaboré (Doughty 70’), Burke (Andersen 77’), Lockyer, Bell, Giles, Nakamba, Barkley (Ruddock-Mpanzu 77’), Chong (Ogbene 77’), Morris, Adebayo (Brown 70’).
Subs not used: Krul, Berry, Woodrow, Johnson.
Attendance: 39,893 (3,054 Hatters)
