Tree species
Dominic Solanke’s stunning scorpion kick saw Tottenham recover from a dismal first-half showing to rescue a draw against Manchester City – whose inability to defend a two-goal lead saw the title race tilt further in Arsenal’s favour.
Thomas Frank’s Spurs were once again booed off by their home fans at half-time as goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo put Pep Guardiola’s side in a comfortable two-goal lead – with the hosts offering next to nothing in the opening 45 minutes.
But Frank earned his money at half-time as Spurs looked like a completely different side at the break – with striker Solanke leading the way.
As it happened | Teams | StatsLive Premier League table | Watch FREE PL highlightsGot Sky? Watch Premier League games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOWđź“şThe forward’s excellent turn in the box saw him squeeze a ball in at the near post while under pressure from Marc Guehi. VAR checked a potential foul by Solanke on the City defender, but it was deemed he played the ball – which uncurred the wrath of Guardiola.
This content is provided by Twitter, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Twitter cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Twitter cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Twitter cookies for this session only.
“If a central defender does that to a striker, it’s a penalty, right?” Guardiola said in his post-match press conference – admitting it created an “emotional issue” for his players.
And after more pressure from the home side, a deserved equaliser came as Solanke turned Conor Gallagher’s cross with a stunning flick from behind him to send the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wild.
Image:
Dominic Solanke sent the Spurs fans wild
Spurs almost completed the comeback as Gianluigi Donnarumma made stunning saves from Wilson Odobert and the excellent Xavi Simons, while Guehi made a magnificent intervention to stop a winner.
City also missed big chances to snatch the lead back through Tijjani Reijnders, who put two efforts off target.
The result means Spurs have helped arch-rivals Arsenal out. City are now six points behind the Premier League leaders – and Guardiola’s side go to Liverpool next.
For Spurs, the comeback is a big boost for Frank but there are still plenty of issues. Cristian Romero came off at half-time meaning Joao Palhinha played 90 minutes in a defence that saw Yves Bissouma and Radu Dragusin make mistakes for City’s goals.
Player ratings:
Tottenham: Vicario (7); Romero (5), Dragusin (6), Palhinha (7); Gray (6), Bissouma (6), Gallagher (7), Udogie (7); Simons (8), Solanke (8), Kolo Muani (6)
Subs: Sarr (6), Odobert (7), Tel (6), Byfield (n/a)
Man City: Donnarumma (7); Nunes (5), Khusanov (6), Guehi (5), Ait-Nouri (5); Rodri (6), O’Reilly (5), Bernardo (7); Cherki (7), Haaland (7), Semenyo (7)
Subs: Reijnders (4), Nico (5), Foden (n/a), Marmoush (n/a)
Player of the Match: Dominic Solanke
Solanke limped off before stoppage time too. A big Deadline Day awaits for Spurs.
SCORPION KICK! Watch Spurs’ comeback!
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Solanke halves Spurs’ deficit
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Solanke scores a stunning SCORPION KICK equaliser
Solanke: I’ll be watching that back a few times!Spurs striker Dominic Solanke to Sky Sports:
“It was a lovely goal to be fair. I had to improvise a bit. It was great work from Conor.
“The ball was behind me a bit but I love those finishes, trying to make something out of nothing. When it goes in, it’s remarkable. I’ll be watching that back a few times!
“We know we need to start games quicker because the first half wasn’t good enough, but the reaction was great.
“We know we’re not good enough in the league at the moment [but] that’s four games unbeaten, we’re trying to build on it.”
Pep refuses to give up title hope
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola questioned the decision to allow Solanke’s first goal after the Spurs striker appeared to kick the back of Marc Guehi’s leg in order to score
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
“I don’t mind an emotional issue for the [first Spurs] goal that the referee gave to Spurs. After that, the momentum is difficult to control. The game was well played.
“Against United, I could say many things [about how we played]. Today, in general, it was really well played.
“You’re saying to me that we stop in the Premier League? We’re 14 games away. We had the injuries. One month ago, we had a lot, so nine, 10 players out, so we know that.
“But at the same time, we are there, and we continue. The calendar is what it is, and now we have a semi-final to reach a final next Wednesday, and after that Anfield, and continue. This is what we have to do.
“As long as the chance is there, the hope is always going to be there.”
Analysis: Man City finally punished for sloppy second halvesSky Sports’ Sam Blitz at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
It was easy street for Manchester City in the first half. They didn’t need to get out of first gear at Spurs. The problem was they stayed there for the rest of the game.
There’s been a common theme regarding Pep Guardiola’s teams and that is slow second halves after being 2-0 up.
Against Wolves, Joao Gomes and Jorgen Strand Larsen should have pulled a goal back for the league’s bottom side but missed chances. Victor Osimhen should have scored once or twice for Galatasaray in midweek. This dip at Spurs was one too many – and it felt similar to the two second-half goals conceded in the Manchester derby
Guardiola said his City team suffered emotionally after the injustice of Dominic Solanke’s first goal standing due to the Marc Guehi collision. Duels were missed, particularly out wide with the full-backs, he said – and it was seen in the equaliser as Nico O’Reilly and Nico Gonzalez got mixed up.
And then the excuses from Guardiola start to come. Blaming the Guehi-Solanke incident follows similar complaints about not getting a penalty against Wolves and Diogo Dalot staying on the pitch in the Manchester derby. The reality is City have been struggling in the most important parts of matches.
It all acts as a reminder that this is not a Manchester City of years gone by. How many times would Guardiola’s team kill a game off early and sit on a lead, maybe push for more?
They need a fix to this second-half issue quickly, as it’s Liverpool up next in the Premier League. The gap to Arsenal cannot afford to get bigger.
Frank: It’s going in the right direction for usSpurs head coach Thomas Frank:
“What I’m extremely happy is we finally got a point out of a big second half. And it felt like a big point, we are playing against the best Premier League team of past seven or eight years, they are competing for the title.
“This team’s ability to respond to setbacks and show resilience is growing bit by bit. It’s been game 11 since [defeat to Nottingham] Forest, but we are showing more consistency, we are more competitive. It’s going in the right direction.
“Not all the results have gone with us. But I think there were good performances against Bournemouth, West Ham and Villa. We just didn’t get at least a point out of it.
“Now we’re getting points, on top of a good performance against Dortmund. It was more good than bad against Burnley, I know it looks bad. And a big performance against Frankfurt.
“So we’re building it with players dropping left right and centre with injuries. That shows everything about the team. I’m so proud of the players.”
Story of the match in stats…
What’s coming up in the Premier League?Tottenham fixturesMan City fixturesPremier League fixtures