The Portuguese dazzled in difficult circumstances at Kenilworth Road to give the champions a narrow but vital win after falling behind

Manchester City’s first game without the injured Erling Haaland was far from easy but Bernardo Silva made sure they came away from an unforgiving trip to Luton Town unscathed.

Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the first half but lacked a cutting edge without their prolific Norwegian and fell behind in the 47th minute to an Elijah Adebayo header.

The champions kept a cool head, though, and Bernardo equalised with a first-time finish after a wonderful run by the returning Rodri, and just a few minutes later Jack Grealish slid in to put them in front after a lovely pass from Julian Alvarez.

City had to dig deep to see the game out but did enough to grab a badly-needed win, their first in five Premier League games.

GOAL rates Man City’s players from Kenilworth Road…

Goalkeeper & Defence

Ederson (6/10):

Coped well on the few occasions City were put under pressure, couldn’t do much about the goal.

Kyle Walker (5/10):

Beaten in the air by Adebayo. Not tested too much otherwise.

Ruben Dias (6/10):

Dealt well with Luton’s few attacks and got forward a bit, forcing Thomas Kaminski to tip his shot on to the bar.

Nathan Ake (6/10):

Helped City control the game from the back.

Josko Gvardiol (5/10):

Didn’t cover himself in glory. Competent but still not standing out.

Midfield

Bernardo Silva (8/10):

The key to everything. Helped City boss the game and pulled them level with his sharp-shooting. Also dug in defensively.

Rodri (7/10):

Showed City what they were missing at Villa Park with another dominant performance and his classy forward play led to the equaliser.

Mateo Kovacic (5/10):

Made his first start for a month but didn’t make the most of it.

Attack

Phil Foden (7/10):

Always a source of danger but also helped control the game.

Julian Alvarez (6/10):

Didn’t make the most of starting up front alone but at set up the winner with a fine cross.

Jack Grealish (6/10):

Had a quiet first half but got better and was in the right place to score his second goal in as many games.

Subs & Manager

John Stones (6/10):

Gave the team more stability after replacing Gvardiol.

Matheus Nunes (N/A):

Came on in the 84th minute.

Manuel Akanji (N/A):

Brought on in added time to see the win out.

Pep Guardiola (6/10):

Got a bit stroppy on the sidelines but managed the game well, knowing his side’s dominance would eventually pay off.