Clinical Man City blow away Luton to return to Premier League summit
Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol scores their side's fifth goal of the game. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire.
Pep Guardiola saw Manchester City leapfrog their rivals back to the top of the Premier League although it felt like the all-important goal difference column was where the manager will have been most focused City, still conscious that goals could decide this title and that they trail Arsenal and Liverpool in that department, scored after just 66 seconds.
Yet, not until they hit the target three times in the final 14 minutes, did City finally turn dominance into goals and make inroads on their rivals.
The opener owed large part to good fortune after Kevin De Bruyne played Erling Haaland clean through on goal and the striker saw his effort blocked by Thomas Kaminski.
The rebound fell for Jeremy Doku, whose shot was charged down by Alfie Doughty, only for the loose ball to sit up invitingly for Haaland whose acrobatic volley was so off-target, it may have gone out for a throw-in before it struck Daiki Hashioka in the face and flew into the goal.
It was clearly an own goal and Hashioka’s contribution was a painful one, literally, with the Japanese international requiring lengthy treatment before he could continue.
Starting the day 11 goals worse off than Arsenal, this was an opportunity for City to eat into that deficit, especially considering they had scored six times at Luton in this season’s FA Cup.
In a long succession of chances, Josko Gvardiol and De Bruyne produced disappointing efforts and Haaland should have scored a second, sliding in to meet a perfect De Bruyne cross.
The second half started the same way, and in symbolic fashion, as Reece Burke slipped in trying to deal with Ederson’s long ball and Matheus Nunes simply fell over as he entered the Luton area.
Ruben Dias peppered the Luton goal with long-range efforts, the second of which whistled past the post with Kaminski rooted to the spot, while Juilan Alvarez snatched at a chance, hurriedly, and shot well over.
But momentum was growing and, on 63 minutes, Alvarez played a neat short corner with Doku and crossed for Mateo Kovacic who scored with a superb strike from 15 yards.
That came from City’s 27th shot of the game and, three minutes later, Luton mustered their first of the day with substitute Cauley Woodrow hitting the cross-bar from Fred Onyedinma’s cross.
Luton had finally hit the wall and fatigue was beginning to show when their best player, Onyedinma, made a tried challenge that tripped Doku on 76 minutes, presenting Haaland with a penalty from which he made no mistake.
But, having been gifted a third, City returned the favour on 81 minutes when Ederson’s pass found Nunes who slipped, handing the ball to Ross Barkley who was composed in scoring his side’s consolation.
The advantage was back to two but Guardiola’s mood will have been improved by Doku adding one more to the column three minutes from time, running at Onyedinma and curling in his shot from eight yards.
And in the third minute of added time Doku teed up Gvardiol who scored from the edge of the the area with a strong shot into the roof of the goal.
Ederson 6; Lewis 7, Akanji 6, Dias 7, Gvardiol 6; Nunes 6, Kovacic 9; De Bruyne 8 (Gomez 80), Alvarez 6, Doku 7; Haaland 7 (Bobb 80). Substitutes (not used) Ortega, Walker, Ake, Grealish, Rodri, Silva, Gomez, Foden.
Kaminski 6; Onyedinma 7 (Nelson 88), Hashioka 7, Burke 6, Doughty 6; Clark 7 (Johnson 88), Barkley 7, Berry 6 (Mpanzu 77, 5); Chong 5, Morris 5, Townsend 5 (Woodrow 58, 5). Substitutes (not used) Shea, Krul, Johnson, Harris, Chigozie, Nelson, Piebald.
: J Brookes 6.
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