This was just what Manchester City wanted ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid.
A relatively stress-free 5-1 victory against Luton, helping cut the goal difference gap to Arsenal to six, restored City to the top of the Premier League ahead of their rivals playing tomorrow.
We analyse the major talking points from the Etihad Stadium.
A job well done – and players rested for Madrid
As the clock ticked over into injury time, Rodri and Bernardo Silva, two key men given a rest ahead of the Madrid game, ambled down the touchline to survey the action.
This was a job well done by City, who scored five and could have probably had 10 if they showed the accuracy of the final 20 minutes in the first 70, but the next game here at the Etihad Stadium will be a different level altogether.
The Manchester City vs Luton Town match dashboard, showing how City dominated throughout
After their demolition of Madrid last season there are high expectations, but the chaos of the game in the Bernabeu suggests there might be drama akin to the meeting two seasons ago, which City dominated but ‘only’ won 4-3.
Rodri, Bernardo, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, and maybe a defender or two, will be back in on Wednesday night for what promises to be an intense and most likely memorable evening.
Haaland’s one-on-one woe
The most breathtaking thing about Erling Haaland’s first season in the Premier League was probably the sense of inevitability he brought.
There was even a stage at the start of last season that City fans seemed to be disappointed if somebody else scored, such was the regularity he was putting them away, and the desire to see the numbers rack up. The final tally was an incredible 52.
But that feeling of inevitability has not been there this season, which might be a strange thing to say about the league’s top scorer. He has 38 goals in all competitions this season and 20 in the league, two more than Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins in second place, so he is hardly doing badly, especially considering he missed around two months with injury. And, of course, he added to his tally from the penalty spot on Saturday afternoon to become only the third player to score 20 league goals in each of his first two seasons (after Andy Cole and Ruud van Nistelrooy).
But the game against Luton followed a similar pattern for Haaland to the one against Crystal Palace last weekend: he missed a great chance one against one with the goalkeeper early on but was on hand to tuck away City’s third.
Erling Haaland is set clear by Kevin De Bruyne’s pass…
The Norwegian steadies himself while Luton’s defenders track back…
… but hits his shot too close to Thomas Kaminsky
Those one against ones are a decent measure of a difference to last season: his big chance conversion is down from 52 per cent to 33 per cent, and he is actually having more of them per 90 (1.97 to 1.91).
It is not out of the question that he ends this season with close to 50 goals again, but he has not had the same efficiency, that is for sure.
De Bruyne looks formidable again
Some good news for City ahead of Real Madrid on Wednesday is that Kevin De Bruyne seems to be in good nick having missed the game at the Santiago Bernabeu in midweek.
It would have been a surprise had his food poisoning not cleared up by now but it was reassuring for City to see him looking sharp against Luton because it builds on last week’s difference-making performance at Palace, following a run of games, particularly big ones, where he was strangely quiet.
That is hardly unexpected given the serious injury he endured at the start of the season but whatever the reasons, life would be much easier for City at this crucial time of the season if the Belgian is scoring and creating like normal, and this was more evidence that he is approaching that form again.
Kevin De Bruyne was imperious against Luton (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
What next for Manchester City?
Wednesday, April 17: Real Madrid (H), Champions League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
After the drama of Tuesday’s first leg at the Bernabeu, which ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw, next week’s second instalment could not be better poised. City have won their last three home games against Madrid, scoring 10 goals in the process, although a repeat of last season’s 4-0 semi-final second leg victory may be asking too much.
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(Top photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images))
