Six talking points as Tammy Abraham hat-trick sends Blues through against Luton

Chelsea saw off a valiant performance from a plucky Luton side to edge past their Championship opponents in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.

The hosts evaded Luton's high-press early on and soon broke the deadlock when Timo Werner picked out Tammy Abraham inside the box to score.

Abraham made it a quick-fire double soon after as he flicked a header over Luton keeper Simon Sluga, but Jordan Clark's strike for the visitors reduced the deficit on the half hour.

Chelsea came out for the second half with intent, throwing everything at the Luton goal and eventually got their rewards as Abraham provided the finishing touch to a great team move to complete his hat-trick.

Werner then had a chance to round off the victory from the penalty spot but Sluga was equal to it.

Here are the talking points from Stamford Bridge.

1. Ball confusion

Luton had started brightly though fell behind early after some confusion when two balls were in play at the same time.

Hakim Ziyech took a quick throw-in to release Timo Werner down the right flank while a number of Luton players still had eyes on the original ball which had rolled back onto the field.

The lively Werner then cut the ball back to Abraham to finish, leaving several Hatters players complaining that the referee should have stopped the game.

"I think they've got every reason to be upset," BBC pundit Danny Murphy said at half-time. "I don't think it should have stood, it shouldn't have been a goal."

2. Treble Tammy

At a time when Chelsea's strikers are under increased pressure, Tammy Abraham reminded fans of his scoring prowess with three well-taken goals.

First he calmly swept away Werner's cross to put Chelsea in front, before out-jumping a Luton defender to head home a second soon after.

He then added his third late on to put the tie to bed, a simple tap-in from close range after great work from Callum Hudson-Odoi.

In doing so, Abraham became the first English player to score an FA Cup hat-trick for Chelsea since a certain Frank Lampard in 2007 (via Opta Joe ).

Many thought Abraham's first-team opportunities would be hampered by the arrival of Werner and co this season, but on this display, it's impossible to leave him out.

3. Kepa's woes continue

The jury is still out on Edouard Mendy's capabilities as Chelsea No.1, which offered Kepa Arrizabalaga a chance to stake a claim again on his recall to the side.

But the error-prone goalkeeper failed to take his chance, dropping another clanger as he allowed Clark's shot to squirm past him.

The ball did skid quickly off the wet surface, and the presence of Kurt Zouma may have distracted Kepa somewhat.

But even so, the ball was within reach and only needed a strong hand to keep it out – something Kepa was not able to provide.

It's safe to say Kepa isn't going to get much better at Chelsea, and at £72million he may well be the biggest transfer flop in history.

Clark's goal was the eighth Kepa has conceded from 20 shots on target this season.

The sooner he moves on, the better it will be for all parties.

4. Captain Mount

Frank Lampard showed his faith in Mason Mount by making him captain for the first time in his career.

The boyhood Chelsea fan has been leading by example amid the Blues' disappointing run of form and is a mainstay in Lampard's side.

So much so he has recently been tipped to be a future club captain, and Lampard clearly feels he has the credentials as he was given the armband against Luton, albeit in a youthful Chelsea team.

Mount stepped up to the challenge, and you could see him barking orders and constantly dictating information to his teammates.

The 22-year-old certainly looks set for a promising career at Stamford Bridge, and the sight of him leading out his team is likely a sign of things to come.

5. Werner can't find the net

Even on a day where he's played well Werner still manages to fluff his lines.

The German striker look revitalised and provided Chelsea with plenty of energy in attack.

He set up the first for Abraham and was a constant threat all afternoon, eventually winning his side a penalty late on after being tripped when racing through on goal.

Here was a chance to Werner to build some more confidence in front of goal.

But his effort from 12 yards was the right height for Sluga, who parried it away as Werner did his best to hide.

6. Terrible timekeeping

After a delayed start to the fixture because Luton were late out onto the field, you'd have thought the Championship side would be keen not to make the same mistake.

But the half-time break ended up lasting 20 minutes as the visitors stay sat inside their dressing room again.

It may well have been mind games from Hatters boss Nathan Jones, as his side then proceeded to do a quick warm-up drill before the second half began.

However their situation wasn't helped by a problem with the clock at Stamford Bridge and the lack of a referees' bell in the away dressing room.

It didn't stop match official David Coote berating Luton's players when they emerged at half-time, though.

Naughty.

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