Chelsea 3-1 Luton: Tammy Abraham hits hat-trick as Blues steam into FA Cup fifth round

When the time comes for Frank Lampard to leave Chelsea – whenever that may be – his legacy shouldn’t necessarily be judged on trophies.

That probably won’t happen, of course. Success is the currency Chelsea deal in. Victories will inevitably determine whether Lampard can emerge from the most challenging period of his Chelsea reign with his job in tact.

That’s life as Chelsea manager, Lampard doesn’t need to be told. But the true fruits of his labours will provide the club with something far more tangible than silverware – as crazy as it sounds. 

Chelsea moved into the FA Cup fifth-round on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Luton Town, with Tammy Abraham scoring all three

The English forward scored twice within the first 17 minutes at Stamford Bridge Chelsea rained attack down on the Luton goal 

The visitors gave a good account of themselves, giving the Blues a few frights as Jordan Clark scored their goal on 30 minutes

When their manager was up against it, Chelsea’s academy fought for the boss they owe so much.

Lampard’s faith in Chelsea’s youngsters was forced somewhat due to last season’s transfer ban. But make no mistake; his kids are now here on merit.

Lampard, when all’s said and done, can look back at that with some pride and accomplishment.

Here against Luton, Tammy Abraham struck a hat-trick, Mason Mount captained Chelsea for the first time, Billy Gilmour played with an eye-catching swagger, Reece James was assisting again and Calum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to terrorise the Championship side into submission.

Abraham killed the game in the 74th minute, finally giving the Blues their breakthrough after a hatful of missed chances 

Players had heavy snowfall to contend with in the warm-up, which subsided just as the game got underway in west London

Chelsea spent £220million in the summer – but this victory was made in the academy.

While club record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga was making another confidence-sapping mistake and Timo Werner was missing a penalty – Chelsea’s kids took it upon themselves to relieve the mounting pressure on Lampard.

Fair play to Luton, they stuck it out for as long as they could. But Chelsea’s youth weren’t prepared to even contemplate any shocks on Sunday.

It took a little while but as soon as Chelsea settled, Luton couldn’t cope.

Their first arrived in the in the 11th minute and owed plenty to Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner’s rapid thinking.

The pair clearly on the same wavelength as Ziyech’s quick throw set Werner away down the right and caught Luton’s defence napping. 

Kepa Arrizabalaga earned a rare start but again let his Frank Lampard down, failing to make a simple save for Luton’s goal

The £71m man has been firmly replaced as the Blues No.1 and now could be relegated to third choice behind Willy Caballero 

The German’s cut-back, via a deflection off Tom Lockyer, found Abraham, whose finish was unerring past Simon Sluga.

Luton weren’t happy with the circumstances leading to the opener. They had good reason, too; there appeared to be two balls on the pitch as Ziyech released Werner.

It was exactly what Chelsea required, exactly what Lampard would have demanded.

The wintery conditions would have encouraged Luton. Snow, slippery conditions and a sodden pitch had FA Cup upset written all over it.

Abraham, though, appeared intent on killing those hopes inside the opening 20 minutes.

The England international’s second afternoon arrived just six minutes later; rising above Lockyer to loop an excellent header over Sluga from James’ cross to double Chelsea’s advantage.

Chelsea should really have cruised home from there. Life isn’t quite so simple at Stamford Bridge right now. 

Timo Werner had a good game, assisting Abraham for goal one and winning the Blues a penalty, which he stepped-up himself

However, the German’s confidence took another his as he missed the spot-kick. Werner was visibly upset by the penalty miss 

Life’s not been simple for Kepa for a very long time and it got significantly worse in the 30th minute.

Chelsea’s marking left much to be desired, as Jordan Clark was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to take aim following James Bree’s pass.

The shot was relatively tame, yet somehow Kepa allowed the effort to squirm past his right hand.

Lampard threw his arms in the air and turned away in fury. Who could blame? Once more the club’s record signing had dropped an unforgivable clanger.

The Spaniard’s £72million arrival from Athletic Bilbao proving an unmitigated disaster.

Credit to Luton, they were clinging on for dear life. And the longer Chelsea failed to score a third, the more their manager Nathan Jones and his irrepressible No 2 Mick Harford would have sensed an equaliser, if not more.

Indeed, Kepa helped redeem his earlier calamity on the hour with an excellent save from Harry Cornick’s fierce effort following some haphazard defending from James. 

Luton had a huge chance to make it 2-2 in the second-half, with Harry Cornick missing a golden chance on the counter-attack

Arrizabalaga made a rare save from the striker, before Chelsea resumed their relentless attacking at the other end of the pitch

The Blues keeper produced another instinctive stop from Lockyer as Chelsea struggled to deal with a Luton corner.

But finally Chelsea secured victory their performance deserved in the 75th minute as Abraham completed his hat-trick, tapping home from a close range following beautiful interplay between Gilmour and Hudson-Odoi.

It was Abraham’s 11th goal of the season – an impressive return for a player who hasn’t been an automatic choice.

All eyes were on Abraham at the start of the campaign, particularly following the arrival of Werner. 

Mason Mount captained Chelsea for the first time on Saturday, continuing his stellar form with a flawless display in midfield

Credit to the 23-year-old, he’s quietly gone about enhancing his reputation when he hasn’t necessarily had the opportunities he’d have expected to do so.

Yet while Chelsea and Abraham, were cruising, Werner’s woes continued as Sluga saved the 85th minute penalty he initially won after being sent clear by Matteo Kovacic.

There appears no end to Werner’s problems; Lampard will hope, though, that this win is symbolic of something more.

Hakim Ziyech lit-up the second-half, creating chance after chance using his silky ball control and world class passing range

The win helped to ease pressure on Frank Lampard, whose Blues side have just one win in the last five Premier League games