10 December 2023 , 17:20
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Jack Grealish absconded into the Bedfordshire dusk with the swag and Manchester City escaped with their first win in five games.
But as a Blue Moon rose over Kenilworth Road, nobody was fooled by their heist. They were made to work desperately hard for it, and Luton – not for the first time this season – were applauded off by their fans with nothing to show for it.
England winger Grealish has struggled to hit top gear since celebrating City's Treble enthusiastically last summer, but his second goal in as many games proved just enough to move back within four points of leaders Liverpool. He said: “A lot of people like to talk about City and go on like it's a big crisis, but in reality we've played very good teams.
"Spurs, who have been unbelievable, Liverpool who are top, Chelsea and Villa, who have got one of the best home records in Europe. We knew we had to keep calm today and we're buzzing to get back to winning ways."
Ahead of their first visit to Kenilworth Road since 1998, City had been treated to plentiful reminders of their darkest hour 15 years earlier, when Raddy Antic's late winner in a relegation shoot-out sent Hatters manager David Pleat galloping across the Maine Road pitch in a blur of beige.
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Fast forward to the present and, when the 2014 Conference champions meet the 2023 Treble winners, there should only be one winner. But for City, it was too close for comfort. With Pep Guardiola's 19-goal top scorer Erling Haaland missing through injury, here was another opportunity for Luton to pile the sandbags high, keep the floodwaters at bay and give one of the big guns a crash course in humility.
They came within seconds of a famous win against Liverpool and within a heartbeat of denying Arsenal. Here, Haaland's absence gave them all the encouragement they needed – and they were close to a deserved point.
Jack Grealish scored the winner for Manchester City at Luton (PA)"Bone-stress reaction in his feet,” revealed City messiah Guardiola of his wounded talisman, who had started every Premier League game this season. “After the last game against Aston Villa he felt like this, he can't play.” When asked how bad the injury was, Guardiola said: "I don't know - week by week, day by day we will see what happens."
For 45 minutes, although there was no sign of the hazardous road ahead, City were pedestrian, strolling and complacent. Thomas Kaminski twice denied Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva slicing one of the rebounds wastefully wide, and the Hatters keeper's leaping save kept Rodri's long-range effort out of the top corner.
City were so comfortable they could have erected a hammock between Ederson's goalposts, but in first-half added time they paid a heavy price for letting their guard drop. Andros Townsend's right-wing cross was perfect for 6ft 4in Elijah Adebayo to attack at the far post, and Luton's towering centre-forward outjumped Ruben Dias to score his fourth goal of the season with an unstoppable header.
But if Luton were dreaming of a famous win, they had only poked the bear. Ruben Dias had already rattled the bar from seven yards when two goals in as many minutes turned the contest on its head.
The England star scored his second goal in as many games (AFP via Getty Images)First Rodri weaved into the box and was blocked off, only for Silva to whip a delicious finish into bottom corner for the equaliser after 62 minutes. Then Teden Mengi failed to cut out Julian Alvarez's low cross and the unmarked Grealish steered the winner between Kaminski's legs.
The Hatters bombarded City's box in a late flurry, but when the flattery subsides and the league table stares them in the face, stark reality will dawn: Luton need points, not pats on the back. And if you had written City out of the title race, the doctor will see you now.