Jacob Bruun Larsen’s stunning late goal earned Burnley a 2-1 win over relegation rivals Luton on Tuesday evening - their first of the Premier League season.
Striker Lyle Foster returned to Vincent Kompany’s starting lineup and gave the Clarets the lead at Kenilworth Road with an elegant finish in first-half stoppage time.
After a lacklustre first-half performance, Luton created an abundance of opportunities after the interval, and thought they’d earned a point when Elijah Adebayo scored from close range, but Larsen struck with seconds of the restart to break Hatters hearts.
Josh Brownhill’s corner from the right was headed towards goal by Zeki Amdouni, only to be denied by Town keeper Thomas Kaminski who tipped over the bar.
The industry of Brownhill and Josh Cullen, and the intelligent movement of Sander Berge allowed Burnley to dominate the midfield, and a passing combination between these three players resulted in Brownhill curling just over.
The Hatters suffered yet another injury setback when Amari’i Bell raced back to return the ball to Kaminski, holding his hamstring as he hobbled off the pitch and was replaced by Reece Burke.
Town were finally made to pay for a lack of gumption in midfield on the cusp of half time.
James Trafford’s goal kick was received by Ameen Al Dakhil, who swiftly played into Cullen. His straightforward pass into Sander Berge caught the capricious Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu out of position. From there, the Dane dissected the home defence with a through ball to Foster, who rolled the ball under Kaminski and into the bottom right corner.
Luton rallied in the second half and penned Burnley into their defensive third for large periods, creating their first quality chance when Mpanzu crossed from the left. Brown’s header back across goal flew beyond Trafford, but Cullen had retreated to heroically head off the line.
The hosts thought they had won a penalty minutes later when Carlton Morris was chopped down by Jordan as he prepared to pull the trigger. However, referee Peter Bankes ruled the Clarets defender’s right boot had made minimal contact with the ball, and decided to wave away appeals.
With time running out, Luton levelled when substitute Tahith Chong’s crossfield ball was headed down by Burke. Adebayo showed skill and strength to control the ball and fend off Al-Dakhil, swivelling to fire low into the bottom left corner.
It’s an old footballing adage that a team is most vulnerable after it has just scored, and after Luton players grabbed the ball out of the Burnley net and raced towards the centre circle, they seemed focused only on scoring a winning goal.
From the restart, Burnley passed out to Bruun Larsen who deceived Burke, cut inside onto his left foot and curled beyond a helpless Kaminski and into the top left corner, sending the travelling fans into raptures.
Having been sent into a state of shock, Luton’s players were unable to climb off the canvas as Burnley saw out the final few minutes to secure a statement win. For teams in the lower reaches of the Premier League table wins against fellow rivals are invaluable, and Vincent Kompany will hope this win will work as a springboard in weeks to come.
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