The One Point They Needed: Solanke’s Brilliance Stole 3 Points from the Mighty Manchester City

Solanke’s brace stole the show and stole Manchester City’s 3 points in a thrilling match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

(Image credits to: Cartilage free captain Getty images)

Despite a game in Manchester City’s favour being almost certain, Tottenham came back from a two goal deficit to secure a point in a season where things just have not gone their way. Manchester City - looking to close the gap and pass Arsenal - were left shocked as they drew, after having a strong start and clear lead going into the second half of the match with Spurs. With a team looking as strong and menacing as City, most would have expected them to thrash Spurs who have, quite frankly, had a rough season. With 61% possession, 12 shots and 91% pass accuracy, The Sky Blues looked well-placed to take an easy win on paper against Spurs. However, the 2-2 draw spoke volumes about both team’s performances. 

Manchester City came out ready to dominate the field. The first half went completely in their favour, despite being away from home. The stadium filled with boos from the home supporters, disgruntled at Tottenham’s poor performance in the first 45 minutes. City’s performance was reflected in an early goal at 11 minutes, where Rayan Cherki slipped the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal, after an unfortunate loss of possession from Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma. Erling Haaland was looking to end his goalless streak during the first half after his assist with Cherki’s goal. His chance was unfortunately lifted over the crossbar, but this was not the end for City’s goal-scoring opportunities. To secure the first half, Rodri took possession from a poorly cleared ball by Radu Dragusin, who passed it onto Bernardo Silva, with Semenyo taking a first-touch and finding the back of the net. Going into half-time, Thomas Frank’s side was met with mass disappointment from their fans as they headed into the tunnel. With Spurs winless in 6 games, things were looking fairly bleak going into the second half.

This was a game that surely had two separate halves, as the City we saw in the first half was nothing like the team we saw after the break. Spurs appeared to have found their fighting spirit, and saw their chance to secure a goal at the hands of Solanke. By maneuvering around Abdukodir Khusanov, he found the back of the net despite Marc Guehi trying to steer the ball out of that direction. Even though the final touch may have come from Guehi, we must give credit to Solanke, who brought his team back into the game and gave supporters hope once more. City were furious, believing that Guehi was fouled in the lead up to the goal, but their protests fell on deaf ears, with Pep Guardiola even receiving a yellow card due to his own protests to the referee. 

Solanke secured Spurs’ comeback in pure style in the 70th minute. He produced a stunning “scorpion kick” to convert Gallagher’s cross into a goal that Donnarumma failed to keep out of the net. Despite fighting until the very last minute, neither side were able to produce a winning goal, and so the points were shared between the two sides at full-time. The result meant that City were not able to put as much of a dent in the gap to Arsenal as they would have liked, and remain six points behind them. For Spurs, who had been toeing the elimination “line” of the league, the result was fairly positive, with them being able to take a point in a game where the deck seemed to be stacked against them. 

(Image credit to : AS USA)

According to TNT Sports, Thomas Frank spoke post-match about the team and what this performance meant to him:

“First and foremost, I am extremely proud of the players and the mentality and character I've shown, and I'm so happy that we got something out of it and a well deserved point.

“Yeah, it means (a lot) not only to me, to the team, to the players, to everyone.

“I just think this: I think we've seen two good performances – the Dortmund game, and this second half. When we're united, fans and players, we can create magic. And that's what we need to keep pushing (and) keep going together. (It) meant the world, to me, to us, all of us.”

Solanke, who was given The Player of the Match Award, also spoke fondly about his team and how he played during the match:

“The first half was difficult. Couldn't get near them at times. But yeah, we've seen it a few times this season, where the second half is a different story. And I think in the second half, we were great and grew with confidence and belief throughout the half, and could have even gone on to win it.”

“Yeah, it was a lovely goal, to be fair (talking about his Scorpion kick goal). 

“I had to improvise a bit. It was great work from Conor (Gallagher) and the ball is behind me a bit, but yeah, I love those finishes.

“I'm trying to make something out of nothing, and when it goes in, it's remarkable. So yeah, I'll be watching that back a few times!”

Article Written by Naeemah Pathan