Manchester City Score Quickfire Double to Defeat Valiant Luton Town

Manchester City scored twice in three minutes to come from behind and beat Luton Town 2-1 at Kenilworth Road, putting an end to their four-game winless run in the Premier League.

The Citizens dominated possession in the first half, but it was Luton who took an unlikely lead seconds before the break when Elijah Adebayo rose to head in Andros Townsend’s enticing cross. 

City levelled on 62 minutes when Bernardo Silva curled an excellent first-time shot into the bottom corner, and Jack Grealish completed the quick turnaround by meeting Julián Álvarez’s cross and slotting between the legs of Town keeper Thomas Kaminski. 

In the absence of the injured Erling Haaland, City manager Pep Guardiola shuffled his starting XI to include Jack Grealish, with Álvarez and Phil Foden playing in more advanced roles. 

It was Foden who had the first chance of the game in the early stages when he exchanged passes with Silva and raced through on goal, only to see his left-foot shot saved by Kaminski, and the follow-up sliced wide by the Spaniard.

Kaminski was called into action again on 18 minutes after City passed the ball along the edge of the Town area, with Rodri firing a high shot towards goal which Kaminski dived to his right to save with a firm left hand. 

The Belgian showed remarkable strength and shot-stopping skills to deny Foden ten minutes later. The English midfielder fired through legs towards the bottom corner, but Kaminski was equal to it, drawing all of the power from the ball with his left hand and casually cupping the loose ball at the second attempt. 

City starved Luton of the ball and continued to assert their dominance throughout the first half. Alvarez should have scored when Grealish passed between Town defenders, however the Argentine poked wide from close range. 

Luton had the impressive Kaminski to thank once again for keeping the scores level when he swiped the ball from the feet of the advancing Foden, and it seemed only a matter of time before the reigning European Champions would finally break the deadlock. 

Town eventually disturbed the City defence as Adebayo wrestled with Ruben Dias and passed to Andros Townsend. The winger lashed towards goal from long range, but could not replicate his famous goal scored against City during his time as a Crystal Palace player. This time Ederson could calmly pat the ball down and collect it at the second attempt. 

Ross Barkley had produced an exceptional performance against Arsenal in midweek, and the midfielder performed an exquisite act of skill on the cusp of half time when he danced past Foden and shook off Rodri before passing to Alfie Doughty on the right flank. 

From there, Doughty raced upfield and passed to Townsend, who turned inside on his left foot, looked up and curled towards Adebayo at the back post. The imperious forward leapt above Dias and powerfully headed past Ederson from close range, sending the home crowd into raptures. 

Kaminski made yet another fantastic save at the beginning of the second half to preserve Luton’s incredible lead. This time, Nathan Ake collected a Silva free-kick on the right side of the area, and after his initial cross was blocked by Jacob Brown, he rolled to Dias who smashed towards the roof of the net, but Kaminski got a crucial touch as the ball cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety. 

City eventually levelled after Rodri dribbled into the box from the right flank. The Spaniard was initially dispossessed by Tom Lockyer, but he couldn’t halt his momentum and collided with the Town captain. Spotting the opening, Silva reacted instantly to curl a clinical left-foot shot beyond Kaminski and into the bottom corner. 

The travelling City fans recognised the importance of Silva’s equaliser and urged their team to apply more pressure on the nervous home defence. Heeding their call, Álvarez sprawled across the turf to intercept Amari’i Bell’s loose pass towards Lockyer and charged down the right flank. The forward’s low cross should have been cleared by Teden Mengi, but the former Manchester United man misjudged the clearance and Grealish arrived at the back post to pass through the legs of Kaminski and into the net. 

As VAR confirmed Bell’s pass had not hit Álvarez’s hand and City’s second goal in quick succession was awarded by referee Tim Robinson, the passionate supporters fell silent in the Kenilworth Road stands. 

Another moment of genius by Ross Barkley almost resulted in an unlikely equaliser in the final stages, with the Englishman weaving intricately between Foden and Mateo Kovacic before skewing wide from the edge of the box. However, City were comfortably able to secure a much-needed win and condemn Luton to a third defeat in succession.