Silva, Grealish Score as Man City Fights Back to Beat Luton 2-1 in Premier League

Jack Grealish of Manchester City celebrates the win during the English Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester City in Luton, Britain, 10 December 2023. (EPA)
Jack Grealish of Manchester City celebrates the win during the English Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester City in Luton, Britain, 10 December 2023. (EPA)
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Silva, Grealish Score as Man City Fights Back to Beat Luton 2-1 in Premier League

Jack Grealish of Manchester City celebrates the win during the English Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester City in Luton, Britain, 10 December 2023. (EPA)
Jack Grealish of Manchester City celebrates the win during the English Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester City in Luton, Britain, 10 December 2023. (EPA)

Manchester City ended its four-match winless run in the Premier League by coming from behind to beat Luton 2-1 thanks to two goals in a three-minute span by Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish on Sunday.

Elijah Adebayo headed in Andros Townsend’s cross at the back post in the second minute of first-half stoppage time to give Luton the lead against the run of play at Kenilworth Road.

Luton led Arsenal at home after an hour on Tuesday only to lose and the same thing happened against City, which equalized when Silva pounced on the loose ball following a tackle on Rodri and curled a finish into the bottom corner in the 62nd.

Grealish then converted a cross to the far post by Julian Alvarez in the 65th to earn City a win after three straight draws — to Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham — followed by a loss at Aston Villa on Wednesday.

City was without Erling Haaland because he was sidelined with a foot injury but the return from suspension of Rodri and Grealish proved vital as the defending champions moved four points behind first-place Liverpool. City remained in fourth place, however, also behind Arsenal and Villa after 16 games.

Without the comeback, City manager Pep Guardiola would have stumbled into his worst streak of results in his coaching career, having never gone five matches without a win.



Kyrgios’ Return to Grand Slam Tennis Is in Doubt Ahead of the Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Kyrgios’ Return to Grand Slam Tennis Is in Doubt Ahead of the Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Novak Djokovic of Serbia (not pictured) hit a return against Michael Venus of New Zealand and Nikola Mektic of Croatia during their men's doubles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 1, 2025. (AFP)

Nick Kyrgios’ planned return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open is in doubt after he sustained an abdominal injury and was forced to withdraw from an exhibition with Novak Djokovic this week.

The 2022 Wimbledon finalist, sidelined with wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 US Open, said in an Instagram post Wednesday that an ultrasound scan had revealed an abdominal strain and "unfortunately (I) won’t be able to play my good friend (Djokovic) this Thursday."

He said he’d be resting and doing everything possible to be ready for the Australian Open, which starts Sunday at Melbourne Park.

The mercurial Australian, who has become a popular commentator during his lengthy stints on the injured list, made his competitive comeback last week at Brisbane, where he played one singles match and partnered with Djokovic in two doubles matches.

Djokovic and Kyrgios won their opening doubles match, a crowd-pleasing, fist-pumping affair by both players at Pat Rafter Arena before a 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 loss to Nikola Mektic of Croatia and New Zealander Michael Venus.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley remained confident Kyrgios would play at the year's first major.

"I think it’s just precautionary, that’s the word we’ve got from him," Tiley said Wednesday, responding to questions about the potential absence of the star Australian. "Nick’s not the only one not doing some of their pre-planned matches over the next few days. There’s no concerns ahead of the Open."