Champions Manchester City moved back to the top of the Premier League with an emphatic 5-1 victory over relegation battlers Luton on Saturday.
A fortuitous early own goal from Daiki Hashioka set the hosts on the way at the Etihad Stadium before a Mateo Kovacic screamer and Erling Haaland penalty effectively secured victory after the break.
Plucky Luton defended stoically throughout and earned consolation through Ross Barkley but Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol wrapped up the scoring.
The result took City above Arsenal and Liverpool at the summit, putting pressure on their title rivals ahead of Sunday’s fixtures.
Victory was almost as routine as it comes, with City not getting anywhere near top gear in a one-sided cruise.
Rodri got his wish for a rest as Pep Guardiola made six changes following Tuesday’s pulsating draw at Real Madrid.
With the Spanish giants visiting the Etihad next week, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and John Stones also sat out – the latter not even in the matchday squad – while goalkeeper Ederson replaced Stefan Ortega.
Kevin De Bruyne returned after illness while Kyle Walker was on the bench after recovering from injury.
Luton’s task was daunting enough without the outrageous slice of misfortune that saw them concede the opener inside two minutes.
Thomas Kaminski did well to save after Haaland had been played through by De Bruyne and Doku’s follow-up was also blocked.
Haaland had City’s third attempt as the ball looped up but his acrobatic volley was heading well wide until it took a huge deflection off Hashioka’s head and ended up in the net.
With the luckless Hashioka requiring treatment from the forceful blow, it was apparent the Hatters were facing a long afternoon.
Yet, to the battling visitors’ credit, they defended with great determination.
Kaminski parried a powerful effort from Gvardiol before saving comfortably from Matheus Nunes, De Bruyne and Ruben Dias.
Haaland put over a chance at the back post and Nunes shaved the upright with an effort that ran across goal.
De Bruyne forced a good save from Kaminski just before the interval and Dias sent a long-range effort narrowly wide early in the second half.
Julian Alvarez also missed the target with a shot on the turn but City finally doubled the lead with a Kovavic thunderbolt just after the hour.
The Croatian had a first strike deflected wide but made no mistake from the resulting corner, hitting an unstoppable effort as the ball bounced along the edge of the area.
Luton responded with their first meaningful attack, and Fred Onyedinma pulled the ball back for Cauley Woodrow, but the substitute fired against the bar.
It proved a short-lived foray into City territory, with normal service soon resumed and Doku winning a penalty after tricking and being brought down by Onyedinma.
Haaland calmly sent Kaminski the wrong way to register his 31st goal of the season but only his second in six outings.
Barkley robbed Nunes to pull one back but City, despite taking off a frustrated-looking De Bruyne, finished with a flourish.
Doku claimed their fourth after weaving through the area in the 87th minute and Gvardiol followed up his fine strike against Real with another stunner in time added on.
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
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