Luton Town is underway. With their first-ever Premier League victory at Kenilworth Road, a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday saw Rob Edwards’ team finish the weekend not just outside the relegation zone but four points ahead of it.One could contend that their current stance is incorrect. If Everton hadn’t been docked ten points, Luton would have remained in the bottom three.
However, recent performances indicate that the Hatters are beginning to acclimatise to life at the top level of English football. It’s not impossible to avoid making an instant comeback to the Championship.
Over the weekend, Luton did not have it all their own way. When Cheick Doucoure was lost by Palace, Lady Luck turned against them.
Luton Town is underway. With their first-ever Premier League victory at Kenilworth Road, a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday saw Rob Edwards’ team finish the weekend not just outside the relegation zone but four points ahead of it.
One could contend that their current stance is incorrect. If Everton hadn’t been docked ten points, Luton would have remained in the bottom three.
However, it was difficult to deny Luton their first league victory at home since a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa in April 1992. Once more, they utilised their advantages. The first goal was from a corner kick by Teden Mengi, and the winning goal was from an early cross into the box by Jacob Brown. Luton put up a valiant defence; goalie Thomas Kaminski in particular
Luton showed plenty of fighting qualities in their two previous matches before the Palace game. Early in November, they had a chance to defeat Liverpool, but Luis Diaz equalised in stoppage time of the second half. Before the international break, Luton then lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford by a narrow margin of 1-0.
Though Kaminski, Ross Barkley, Carlton Morris, and Chiedozie Ogbene have all drawn attention, it is evident that Luton’s team lacks a wealth of elite talent. However, this group does possess additional traits. At Kenilworth Road, everyone is pulling in the same direction, and Edwards has proven to be a wise coach.
Most significantly, their play makes sense. Luton is not Manchester City’s second coming.
But Luton’s more straightforward approach has worked well a few times. By getting the ball into the box as frequently as they can, they put teams under pressure.
If penalties are excluded, only six teams have scored more goals from set-pieces. That should come as no surprise considering how physically intimidating they are; the Hatters have only lost fewer aerial duels than Brentford (238) and Everton (234) combined.
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