Tottenham 2-2 Man City: Dominic Solanke turned Spurs into a comeback as they earned a valuable draw against rivals Arsenal by a wide margin in this season’s Premier League title race.
Tottenham come from behind to draw with Manchester City (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Dominic Solanke’s stunning goal earned Jekyll & Hyde Tottenham a 2-2 draw with Manchester City. City’s title hopes suffered another blow as Solanke’s scorpion kick cost them three points.
Pep Guardiola’s side were heading for victory when Rayan Cherki broke the deadlock with 11 minutes remaining. Antoine Semenyo then doubled the visitors’ lead before half-time.
Thomas Frank must have talked a lot about the team to his players, because after the interval the players were dressed differently. Solanke gave Tottenham hope with a stunning goal, then scored an acrobatic goal with 20 minutes left to equalize and set up a grandstand finish.
City regained their composure and looked for a chance, but could not find one. This result, combined with Aston Villa’s defeat, means Arsenal are now six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Here are five talking points from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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1. Cerki continues to perform well
For Cherki, 2026 was a fruitful year. In the last seven games, the winger has directly contributed to six goals, the latest of which came after just 11 minutes.
After Erling Haaland handed him the ball, Cherki found space on the right and waited patiently until Radu Dragusin retreated. The former Lyon star took the lead with a right-footed strike that beat a sprawling Guglielmo Vicario.
City’s early goals did little to change the somber atmosphere in north London. But minutes later, the home crowd began to roar in anger after Haaland almost made it 2-0.
The injured Cherki looked like he would be back in the 25th minute, but Tijani Rejnders changed and got ready. But while the France international was fine with continuing to play, that didn’t stop him from receiving some harsh words from a bemused manager Guardiola.
It took Rayan Cherki 11 minutes to score (Image: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
2. Semenyo is back at Spurs
Given how open Tottenham remained as the first half wore on, it felt like City’s second goal was a matter of when. Semenyo was the man to score his second of the year against Spurs and double the lead.
His final touch after a big-money move to Bournemouth for Manchester was the winning goal against Frank’s side on January 7th. Semenyo once again put his team through the roof, scoring a simple finish just before half-time when Bernardo Silva came on.
The £62.5m man became the first player to score against Tottenham for two different clubs in the same Premier League season. Spurs better hope they don’t play City in the Champions League.
Antoine Semenyo has scored against Tottenham for two clubs this season (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
3. Romero concerns add to Tottenham’s woes
As the second half began, the 10 Tottenham players who had trudged into the locker room 15 minutes earlier returned. However, Cristian Romero was not one of them and was replaced by Pape Matar Sarr during the break.
Strangely, the Spurs captain showed no signs of injury. Although his main job is defending, the Argentine’s goals have been just as important for Tottenham in recent weeks. Frank would be worried if his absence was fitness related.
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Tottenham fought for their manager in the second half (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
4. Stunning Solanke fuels Spurs comeback
Although he was sidelined for much of Frank’s reign, Solanke quickly became a key player for the Spurs manager and inspired his team’s return. In the 53rd minute, he latched on to the ball from Xavi Simons, the striker swung past Abdukkodir Kusanov and found Marc Gehi with a sliding tackle.
However, Solanke did not give up and went to steal the ball with Guehi. Both players appeared to get the touch and Spurs found the back of the net.
With 20 minutes remaining, Solanke, who was denied the opening goal, took matters into his own hands and leveled the score. Conor Gallagher ran down the right flank and delivered a cross, and the 28-year-old swung his right foot back for a scorpion kick that looped over Donnarumma.
Dominic Solanke equalized with a scorpion kick (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
5. Who is the real winner? Arsenal.
Arsenal win, Villa lose, City draw – it looks like a dream weekend for Spurs’ rivals. After two halves of this game, it happened.
City looked likely to score the winning goal, but Guardiola’s side were denied a goal despite nine minutes of added stoppage time. Tottenham lost Solanke to injury late on, another negative factor on the day, but they held on for a draw.
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