Manchester City had to come from behind to defeat Luton Town away from home on Sunday afternoon, bringing an end to the club’s four-game winless run in the Premier League with a 2-1 win.
“Liverpool and Arsenal have struggled to win there,” Pep Guardiola warned ahead of City’s visit to Hertfordshire. “It will be no different for us.” And so it proved.
Elijah Adebayo’s header on the cusp of half-time had Luton ahead and dreaming. But Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish fired City in front, keeping Guardiola’s side within four points of leaders Liverpool.
How the game unfolded
Manchester City limped into the contest reeling from arguably the most convincing defeat of Guardiola’s tenure, a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa which the Catalan coach likened to a “punch in the face”.
Erling Haaland’s enforced absence through injury was another blow for the champions ahead of kick off and Adebayo connected with City’s glass chin to nudge Luton in front seconds before the half-time whistle.
The visitors had been utterly dominant across the opening 45 minutes of the contest, denying Luton a sniff of Ederson’s goal while forcing Thomas Kaminski into a flurry of saves.
Yet, the game was still goalless when Ross Barkley pirouetted past Rodri and Bernardo Silva in his own half, sparking a rare surge upfield. Andros Townsend swung an inviting cross to the back post for Adebayo to gobble up, towering above Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias to nod the hosts into a scarcely believable lead.
Guardiola certainly couldn’t get his head around the situation. City’s frazzled coach argued fiercely with the referee as both sides went down the tunnel at half-time.
The champions may not have had Haaland in their ranks but Rodri was back. Faced with Luton’s obdurate low block, the talismanic midfielder barged through the tangerine mass, driving into the box and the home team’s captain Tom Lockyer. The ball broke favourably for Bernardo Silva to take a swing, picking out the bottom corner with City’s 15th attempt of the afternoon.
City’s 16th effort also found the back of the net. Much like Rodri, Jack Grealish had been suspended for the trip to Villa Park. Upon his return, Grealish capped off a crisp counterattack, hauling City ahead within three minutes of their equaliser.
There were some nervy moments over the final half-hour, with Guardiola delivering a nod of respect to Rob Edwards’ side by making a substitution solely to waste time. Yet, City held on to rediscover what winning felt like.
