On a day when all three points were undoubtedly on the line, Luton Town won their first Premier League point on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Wolves.
After Wolves were relegated to ten men in the 39th minute, Pedro Neto opened the score for the visitors early in the second half. When Jean-Ricner Bellegarde seemed to stamp on Tom Lockyer, he was given his marching orders.
On 65 minutes, Carlton Morris stepped up from the penalty spot to net his second spot-kick of the season, following a handball incident that has sparked widespread debate in the national media.
Here are four things we noticed during Saturday’s draw at Wolves…
Doughty and Chieo terrorize the left flank.
With several new players joining the squad over the summer and the season still in its early stages, relationships within the Luton Town squad are still forming, but based on Saturday’s performance, you’d think Alfie Doughty and Chiedozie Ogbene had been teammates for years.
Both delivered very good performances against a Wolves right-hand side brimming with high-level experience, with the pair’s persistent running, combination play, and contributions in the final third wreaking havoc.
The left-sided combo will have gained a lot of confidence after their performance on Saturday, and it’s exciting to think that there’s still more to come from them.
The extra man advantage is ineffective.
On Saturday, Luton sprang into life from the first minute against their Midlands opponents, and the first 35 minutes were electrifying. However, Bellegarde’s red card did not have the desired effect on most Town fans. Wolves dropped deeper, deciding to suck up Luton’s possession and counter with pace and directness (as demonstrated by Neto’s goal).
Luton Town struggled last season when lower-tier Championship clubs used a low block, and the Bedfordshire club faced a similar problem on Saturday.
The chance-creation numbers are improving, but there is still potential for improvement.
The Hatters were able to create numerous opportunities and carve out opening after opening, particularly in the early exchanges.
This was backed up by the number with Luton generating an xG of 1.85, which was the highest from all the teams that played on Saturday, with that figure being drawn up from was 20 attempts.
You still get the impression that there is more to come from a chance-creation perspective but Saturday appeared to be a sign of things to come, with relationships across the pitch seemingly improving each week.
Blink and you’re behind
On a personal level, the biggest difference between the Championship and the Premier League so far has been the ruthlessness of top-tier opponents, with Saturday’s game against Wolves highlighting that once again.
The visitors conjured up two real chances in 90 minutes and managed to score one of them, with Pedro Neto taking full advantage of a rare Tom Lockyer indecision.
Luton have proven to be an organised unit so far who have defended fairly well for the most part, however, slight lapses of concentration and individual mistakes paint the picture differently.
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