In the 89th minute of this tempestuous afternoon at Kenilworth Road, Manchester City's Jack Grealish took the ball to the corner flag instead of trying to build an attacking move. As soon as he got there, the England international, treble winner and face of Gucci was dumped on his backside in front of the home fans. It was one of those afternoons for City. It was that kind of game.
But the champions of England just about won. Pep Guardiola's gilded team came back from a goal down to win, ending a mini-slump that some said threatened to derail their league season. That was never likely.
Still, City needed a little help from referee Tim Robinson to get over the line. No favors, just good decisions, but they were important nonetheless.
The first was an advantage that allowed City to continue play in the 62nd minute and Bernardo Silva to equalize while the assistant referee was still flagging for a foul on Kyle Walker. The second, a few minutes later, waved away Luton's calls for handball against Julian Alvarez as City pushed forward and created the winner for Grealish. Another smart decision in the chaos and heat of a Premier League Sunday.
It's worth mentioning because Guardiola was critical of referee Simon Hooper after City drew at home to Tottenham a week ago, while here he gave assistant referee Marc Perry a right ear as the two men walked across the pitch towards the tunnel at half-time. Strange how the good decisions never get the same attention as the bad ones, huh?
Jack Grealish scored Manchester City's winner against Luton Town on Sunday afternoon
He put the ball into the back of the net in the 65th minute of the match to see City win 2–1.
The goal came just three minutes after Bernardo Silva equalized for Pep Guardiola's side
Your browser does not support iframes.
At the end, referee Robinson was booed by the home fans, but that's how it goes. Coincidentally he played a good game, as did Luton. They gave City quite a scare.
Rob Edwards' side are devilishly difficult to beat here and City – without the injured Erling Haaland – had to dig deep after home striker Elijah Adebayo crashed into a far post in extra time of the first half.
It sometimes felt like a slog for City, but it could be an important afternoon. They play at home against Crystal Palace next Saturday, but then skip a match to participate in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. They don't want to be too far behind whoever is leading the Premier League by the time they return.
They could have made this easier here. They could have taken the lead in the second minute. Silva – City's best attacking player – played in Phil Foden on the left and his low cross was pushed away by Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski. Silva had followed the action into the penalty area, but his follow-up shot was not controlled.
After what threatened to be a flying start, things became considerably more difficult for City. Luton accepted that their opponents would have possession but were unwilling to sit back and let City press on them. Instead, Luton's attackers pressed City as they tried to build, challenging them to play on.
At times City did succeed and then they looked dangerous and the numbers flowed into Luton's back four. Likewise, Luton managed to unnerve City in equal measure. Jacob Brown in particular was a danger in that regard and did not give the returning Rodri and Mateo Kovacic a moment's rest.
Luton Town shocked champions Manchester City by taking the lead in first-half stoppage time
It was Elijah Adebayo who found the back of the net, beating Ederson with a powerful header
However, City turned things around in the second half, with Silva equalizing in the 62nd
Silva and his teammates celebrated the goal fiercely before Grealish added to the tally
Every now and then there were glimpses of light for City. Kaminski touched on a Rodri shot from 25 yards, while Foden was denied on the goalkeeper's left in the 26th minute.
In between, Grealish went close, while Alvarez probably should have done better than to fire a shot into the side netting with his right foot after Grealish found him with a cute ball against the near post.
City were not dominant, but comfortable. But then Luton scored. Two minutes into added time, Andros Townsend finally got some change from Josko Gvardiol on the right and as he cut the ball back onto his left foot, his inswinging cross was headed in at the back post by Adebayo.
With the home fans losing their minds it was tempting to blame the City defence. Actually there was little to be found. It was simply a beautiful cross, topped by a beautiful striker jump.
For the third game in a row in the league, City had to come from behind and when this game turned around it was largely thanks to hard work and perseverance. There was nothing flashy about this comeback, nothing overwhelmingly inevitable. But it all came down to the same thing.
Ruben Dias advanced and hit the crossbar on the hour in the 60th minute. This led to a period of possession for City, which turned around and ultimately decided the match.
With that advantage from referee Robinson, Rodri was allowed to advance into the Luton penalty area and when his progress was halted by Tom Lockyear, Silva moved towards the ball and curled it beautifully towards the far corner and in with his left foot.
Then, with the referee ignoring calls for a handball against Alvarez as he stopped play in the center of the pitch, Foden briefly took over the ball, sent it back to Alvarez on the right and his low cross went off the side of Kaminski's legs and in. at Grealish's far post.
This felt difficult for Luton. Heroic defeats become a specialty here. However, their spirit has never left them. And that's a good thing, because they're going to need it. City will do that too. Winning games in the Premier League doesn't get any easier, no matter who you are.
Manager Pep Guardiola will be happy that he has dropped points in the last four games
Meanwhile, Luton will be disappointed after letting City get back into the game in the second half
