City get back on track as Jack's the lad to calm nerves after big scare

AFTER more inquests than Pep Guardiola would like over the last few days, the verdicts on City started coming in at Luton in under 90 seconds.

- SIMON BAJKOWSKI

"F*** me, look how they pass," one fan ea said to his mate just after kick-off.

The Premier League new boys have b already seen Liverpool and Arsenal at Kenilworth Road but it didn't take long for the champions to be looked on as the best side to have graced the ground this year.

Guardiola's side did look miles better than they were allowed to be on Wednesday night on Villa Park, and improved on other recent performances.

 The problem was that the performance still nearly led to another unwanted result.

Elijah Adebayo's header in first-half stoppage time might have made for a famous 1-0 win for Luton that asks further questions of a City team.

That first half showed that you can play as well as you like but if you don't convert your possession into goals and stop opposition teams from scoring you can easily lose football matches.

City had played well, dominating the ball and forcing Thomas Kaminski into a number of good saves with Phil Foden particularly bright in an attack missing the injured Erling Haaland.

However, when half of the team failed to stop Ross Barkley escaping their attention and the defence allowed Adebayo to rise highest in the box the second half became another test of a new-look City desperately trying to prove they still have the mentality of previous title-winners.

That they had to do it without Haaland was another symbol of City's struggles though, the rain pouring on them long before it fell on Sunday.