The ex-Manchester City midfielder scored two and assisted the other at Kenilworth Road as the Blues survived a late comeback from their hosts

Chelsea may have endured a year to forget, but their final match of 2023 offered some hope for the future as Cole Palmer inspired Mauricio Pochettino's side to a 3-2 win over a battling Luton Town on Saturday.

The Blues were gifted an early lead as Issa Kabore looked to pass the ball out of defence, but only found Palmer on the edge of the box, and the former Manchester City man arrowed a strike into the bottom corner. Palmer was then involved in Chelsea's second, as he played the ball into Noni Madueke's path, who in turn fired a fierce strike past Thomas Kaminski at his near post.

Either side of Madueke's goal, Luton fought hard to get back into the game, but Chelsea looked to have sealed the points through Palmer as he latched onto Nicolas Jackson's through ball and danced around Kaminski before tapping into the empty net.

Luton weren't done, though, as former Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley headed in from a corner before Elijah Adebayo tapped in to spark a grandstand finish, but they couldn't find an equaliser as Pochettino's side recorded their third win from their last four Premier League games.

GOAL rates Chelsea's players from Kenilworth Road…

Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence

Djordje Petrovic (7/10):

Not forced into a serious save until the 85th minute but exuded confidence with his distribution and willingness to collect crosses. Superbly tipped Morris' header onto the bar and unlucky his stop from Doughty led to Adebayo's goal.

Malo Gusto (5/10):

Played the odd misguided pass inside his own half but was otherwise assured until Luton's late fightback caused panic. Couple of dangerous balls into the box weren't capitalised upon.

Axel Disasi (6/10):

Caught out of position at times but won plenty of balls in the box and made a couple of key tackles, too.

Thiago Silva (9/10):

Back to his best as he won every challenge, made every block and cleared with every header. Late clearance from under his own crossbar denied Adebayo a dramatic equaliser.

Levi Colwill (7/10):

Starting to look a little more comfortable at left-back. Played a key role in the build-up to Madueke's crucial strike just as Luton were beginning to dominate.

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Conor Gallagher (6/10):

Denied by Kaminski early on but was otherwise used in a more defensive role, and did his job adequately.

Moises Caicedo (7/10):

One of his better performances in a Chelsea shirt as he continuously won the ball back and distributed well.

Cole Palmer (9/10):

Oustanding in his No.10 role. Capitalised on Kabore's mistake to open the scoring before assisting Madueke with one of a number of forward passes he played from space. Showed superb feet for the clinching third goal, too.

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Noni Madueke (7/10):

Did a lot of good tracking of the dangerous Doughty and got his reward with a fine finish for his second goal in as many games.

Armando Broja (4/10):

Physicality caused some early problems but Luton defence soon got to grips with the Blues' central striker. Couldn't really get in the game before being replaced just past the hour mark.

Nicolas Jackson (5/10):

Went on a couple of dangerous dribbles from the left but too often made the wrong decision. Did get the assist for Palmer's second with a good through ball after turning his man.

Getty ImagesSubs & Manager

Christopher Nkunku (5/10):

Pretty anonymous after being introduced for the final 30 minutes or so.

Enzo Fernandez (N/A):

Brought on to shore up the midfield as Luton launched their comeback.

Alfie Gilchrist (N/A):

Thrown on in stoppage time and made one big tackle to end Luton's challenge.

Mauricio Pochettino (7/10):

Still needs to find the ideal forward line, but as long as Palmer is playing in behind it, his team have a chance of climbing the table in 2024.