THE NOTEBOOK: Manchester City overcome more travel woes to end winless run against Luton… while Ross Barkley is showing signs of becoming a midfield force once again
- Man City come from behind to beat Luton 2-1 to get back to winning ways
- Ross Barkley stars for Luton, while Julian Alvarez struggled as central striker
- Man City have dipped, but Gary Neville is WRONG to say they’re complacent – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Manchester City escaped another dent in their title defence as they came from behind to beat Luton at Kenilworth Road, in a game with plenty of talking points.
The Hatters, who narrowly lost to Arsenal in midweek, once again put up a credible fight against the treble winners, but had nothing to show for it at the final whistle.
Luton took the lead right on half time through Elijah Adebayo, but second half goals from Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish secured the victory for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The win halts City’s run of four games without a Premier League win, and closes the gap on Liverpool to four points at the top of the table.
Mail Sport takes a look at some of the stories away from the headlines at Kenilworth Road.
Jack Grealish celebrates scoring the winner after Man City come from behind to beat Luton
Travel trouble
Manchester City have not always had much luck with their travel arrangements for away fixtures this season – and today was another example.
The champions, who were on their worst run of Premier League form for six years, were forced to abort plans to fly down south on Saturday night because of the adverse weather conditions in the north west.
Pep Guardiola’s team instead stayed at home and boarded their plane on the morning the game. The weather wasn’t particularly great then, either.
The classic clashes
This was never going to top the most famous clash between these sides, when Luton relegated City on the final day of the 1983 season. And, given this was the first meeting in any division since 1999, the Raddy Antic winner and David Pleat jig was not far from the minds of either club.
‘How could I not mention it?’ Luton director Stephen Browne wrote in his programme notes. ‘I have fond kinship for those City fans who hold this against us.
‘It’s nostalgically welcome to bare the real grudge of real fans for past clashes, when passions ran our beautiful game. No more so than in today’s footballing climate where fans, pundits and the league itself seem to have very short memories.’
The meeting sparked memories of a famous Luton win in 1983 when Raddy Antic netted the goal that relegated Manchester City
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There’s a midfielder for Luton who should be attracting some interest from clubs higher up the division based on his recent displays.
A real force when driving through the third in possession and knitted things together nicely for a team who had to protect the ball when it was theirs. Played well, Ross Barkley.
Watching on
In a break from tradition, Guardiola decided to watch the warm ups beforehand, which must have been a pre-planned move because his technical area was the other side of Kenilworth Road to the dressing rooms.
Some managers make a habit of it – Jurgen Klopp in particular – but Guardiola’s never usually one to have a look at his players in the half an hour leading up to kick off. It may have been to suss out the body language of the squad after four matches without a win.
Ross Barkley’s recent displays are a throwback to the form he showed as an England star
Julian Alvarez will have to step up a gear if he has to fill in for Erling Haaland for a longer period
City need more
No Erling Haaland for City, missing with a stress fracture in his foot.
It meant Julian Alvarez was afforded a rare chance as the central striker but he really needs to do more.
Nothing was sticking with the Argentine, whose first touch often deserted him.
If Haaland’s injury is more severe than City hope then Alvarez will be required to improve his output and quickly.
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