Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest that forced the abandonment of his team’s Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday as Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace. Luton’s game on the south cost was halted midway through the second half with the score at 1-1 after defender Lockyer collapsed on the pitch. The Wales international was removed from the field of play on a stretcher surrounded by a medical team to a standing ovation from the crowd. The Premier League confirmed the match had been abandoned. “Our medical staff have confirmed that the Hatters captain suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch, but was responsive by the time he was taken off on the stretcher,” Luton said in a statement. “He received further treatment inside the stadium, for which we once again thank the medical teams from both sides. Tom was transferred to hospital, where we can reassure supporters that he is stable and currently undergoing further tests with his family at his bedside.”
The 29-year-old had heart surgery in June after collapsing during Luton’s Championship play-off final win against Coventry.
He returned to action for the start of the new season and had made 15 appearances so far in all competitions before Saturday’s match.
Wales posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Our thoughts are with Tom Lockyer.”
The incident in Bournemouth overshadowed a dramatic game at the Etihad, where champions City were cruising towards a win before conceding two late goals.
Palace have been something of a bogey team for City boss Pep Guardiola since he arrived in England in 2016 — they are one of only three teams to have won at the Etihad more than once, along with Manchester United and Chelsea.
The champions, without injured top-scorer Erling Haaland, enjoyed nearly three-quarters of the possession in the first half but had only Jack Grealish’s goal to show for their dominance.
City extended their lead when Rico Lewis thumped the ball into the bottom left corner in the 54th minute.
City seemed destined to move to within one point of Premier League leaders Liverpool before the late drama.
But Palace scored against the run of play to give themselves hope in the 76th minute when Jeffrey Schlupp shrugged off the attentions of the City defence and crossed for Jean-Philippe Mateta to poke home.
The home fans faced a nervous last quarter of an hour and watched in horror when referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot after Phil Foden fouled Mateta.
Michael Olise made no mistake, slotting home in the 95th minute and boos rang around the Etihad at the final whistle.
City, who now head to the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia, have won just one of their past six Premier League games and risk falling off the pace.
“It’s really unfortunate but we’ve got to look at ourselves and look at our individual decisions and then look at us as a group,” Lewis told the BBC.
“We can’t blame anyone else. We can only blame ourselves for it.”
Chelsea beat bottom club Sheffield United 2-0 to register just their third home league win of the season.
Cole Palmer smashed Raheem Sterling’s low cross into the net in the 54th minute and he turned provider just after the hour mark for Nicolas Jackson.
Newcastle claimed all three points at their St James’ Park stronghold after two consecutive league defeats.
Teenager Lewis Miley found the bottom corner in the 57th minute, Miguel Almiron made it 2-0 and Dan Burn scrambled home late in the game to put the result beyond doubt.
Burnley face Everton later on Saturday, with Sean Dyche’s men aiming for a fourth straight win.
High-flying Aston Villa and Arsenal are both in action on Sunday, as are Jurgen Klopp’s leaders who face under-performing Manchester United.
Topics mentioned in this article
