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Chelsea fans have heaped praise on young defender Alfie Gilchrist after he made a vital tackle late on in the win over Luton Town.
His defensive action helped the Blues win 3-2 after nearly squandering a three-goal lead on Saturday (December 30) in the Premier League. One fan compared the youngster with former Blues player Antonio Rudiger:
"Alfie Gilchrist is the new Rudiger"
Another fan praised the academy graduate:
"One of our own"
Here are some of the top fan reactions on X:
Trending
Chelsea looked to be cruising to a win against Luton. Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke scored in the first half before Palmer added his second in the 70th minute.
However, the hosts pulled one back through Ross Barkley in the 80th minute. Elijah Adebayo added another in the 87th minute. But the Blues hung on, with Thiago Silva and Gilchrist making key tackles to thwart Luton.
With the win, Chelsea made it back-to-back wins in the Premier League after beating Crystal Palace in midweek.
Chelsea boss praises Cole Palmer
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino lauded attacker Cole Palmer for his performance against Luton Town. Palmer scored twice and assisted one as the Blues registered a thrilling win.
Pochettino said about Palmer, who has 10 goals and six assists across competitions for the Blues this season, as per Guardian:
“Such an important player for us."
Praising Luton for their resilience despite the Blues looking to be in cruise control, the boss added:
“I am so pleased. It is never easy. We needed to win. I think we controlled the game until the second half. Then when you concede you increase the belief of the opponent.
"The Premier League is like this. If you see the previous (Luton) games like Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle you can see the difficulty of playing here. It is a team that really believes in the way they play. It is always tough to play here.”
The Blues next play Championship side Preston North End in their FA Cup opener on January 6 before travelling to Middlesborough for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semis three days later.
