Luton Town have lift-off. After a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday - their first ever Premier League success at Kenilworth Road - Rob Edwards’ side ended the weekend not just outside the relegation zone, but four points clear of it.
It could be argued that their present position is a false one. Had Everton not suffered a 10-point deduction, Luton would still be in the bottom three.
Even so, the last few weeks have shown that the Hatters are starting to get used to life at the top table of English football. Avoiding an immediate return to the Championship no longer feels like an impossibility.
Luton did not have everything their own way at the weekend. Lady Luck turned against Palace, who lost Cheick Doucoure and Ebere Eze - two of their most important players - to injury early in the second half. Even then, Palace still had enough chances to leave Bedfordshire with a point.
But it was hard to begrudge Luton their first top-flight triumph on home turf since a 2-0 defeat of Aston Villa in April 1992. They once again played to their strengths. Teden Mengi’s opener came from a corner and Jacob Brown’s winner was from an early cross into the box. Luton defended stoutly, with goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski particularly impressive.
There had already been signs that Luton were beginning to get to grips with the Premier League. Edwards’ men were outclassed in their first two games of the campaign, going down 4-1 to Brighton and 3-0 to Chelsea. But in their 11 outings since, Luton have only lost once by more than a single goal - and even that defeat was a reasonably respectable 3-1 reverse to Aston Vila.
In their two outings before the Palace game, Luton demonstrated plenty of battling qualities. They were moments away from beating Liverpool in early November, only for Luis Diaz to equalise in second-half stoppage time. Luton then suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford before the international break.
It is clear that Luton’s squad does not contain an abundance of top-tier talent, even though Ross Barkley, Carlton Morris, Chiedozie Ogbene and the aforementioned Kaminski have caught the eye. But this group does have other qualities. Everyone is pulling in the same direction at Kenilworth Road and Edwards has shown himself to be an astute coach.
Most importantly, there is clarity in their play. Luton are not the second coming of Manchester City. They rank bottom of the Premier League for possession (35.6%) and pass completion (71.1%), while only 23% of their attacks come down the middle of the pitch.
However, Luton’s more direct style has proved effective on several occasions. They put teams under pressure by getting the ball into the box as often as they can.
Only six teams have scored more goals from set-pieces, excluding penalties. That is no surprise given how physically imposing they are, with only Brentford (238) and Everton (234) having won more aerial duels than the Hatters (233).
Luton are not afraid to get stuck in, either. They rank eighth for tackles (17.8) and joint-fifth for interceptions (9.2) per game. They also have a knack for staying in games, hence the lack of thrashings since those first two defeats by Brighton and Chelsea.
Edwards struck the right tone after the victory over Palace. He rightly praised the "unbelievable spirit" his team displayed in the 2-1 win, but cautioned that there is plenty of work still to do.
"I don’t want the players having a party. We’ve done nothing. We’ve got nine points. I don’t think that’s anything to be going out to the nightclub and having a flipping disco or a party," he said.
"Enjoy it, but we’ve got to go again. Brentford’s really difficult next week, then we’ve got Arsenal and Man City to look forward to. We’ve got to keep improving and getting better."
We are still only a third of the way into the season, but it looks like a comparatively low points tally will be enough to stay up this time around. Luton are still the second-favourites for the drop, but the last few weeks have shown that it would be a mistake to write them off.
