Dominic Solanke delivered one of the moments of the Premier League season on Sunday night, scoring a sensational scorpion kick equaliser to rescue Tottenham Hotspur in a 2 to 2 draw against Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.
The England striker scored twice as Spurs overturned a two goal deficit, denting City’s title chase and drawing the attention of football fans back home in Eswatini, where the Premier League continues to command a massive following.
Manchester City, chasing leaders Arsenal at the top of the table, looked firmly in control during the first half. Rayan Cherki opened the scoring in the 11th minute after Yves Bissouma lost possession cheaply, drilling a low shot into the bottom left corner. Erling Haaland, who provided the assist, nearly ended his league goal drought soon after but lifted his finish over the bar after breaking through Spurs’ high defensive line.
City’s dominance paid off again just before the break. Rodri intercepted a poor clearance from Radu Dragusin and released Bernardo Silva, who set up Antoine Semenyo for a composed first time finish in the 44th minute to make it 2 to 0 at half time.
The contest shifted dramatically after the interval. Spurs, under mounting pressure in recent weeks, returned with renewed urgency. Eight minutes into the second half, Solanke shrugged off Abdukodir Khusanov and forced the ball into the net despite the attention of Marc Guehi, cutting the deficit in half.
The equaliser arrived in unforgettable fashion in the 70th minute. Solanke met Conor Gallagher’s cross with the back of his heel, flicking the ball high over Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net to complete the comeback and ignite the home crowd.
Both sides pushed for a winner in a frantic closing spell. Donnarumma denied Wilson Odobert at the near post and later tipped Xavi Simons’ curling effort over the bar, while City failed to make the most of a goalmouth scramble at the other end. Tijjani Reijnders twice headed wide late on, and Haaland also scooped an effort over the crossbar as the points were shared.
The result moves Spurs into 14th place, offering some relief for head coach Thomas Frank, who has been dealing with injuries that have left him with only 11 senior players available, five of whom on the bench had never featured in the Premier League. City remain second on the table, now six points adrift of Arsenal, who had earlier strengthened their position with a 4 to 0 win over Leeds United.
For Guardiola’s side, attention now turns to their EFL Cup semi final against Newcastle United, where they hold a 2 to 0 aggregate lead, before a high profile league trip to Liverpool at Anfield next weekend.
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