Tottenham’s stirring fightback — lit by a scorpion-kick equalizer from Dominik Solanke — dented Manchester City’s chase and handed Arsenal clear daylight in the Premier League title race on Sunday.
Solanke scored twice in the second half to rescue a 2-2 draw for Spurs after City had cruised to a 2-0 halftime lead. The point leaves Arsenal six clear at the top with 14 games left, a cushion that widened as Aston Villa lost at home to 10-man Brentford.
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It was a wild, consequential day across the league, shaped by late drama, red cards and one audacious finish in north London.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a heavily depleted Spurs side looked overmatched early as City sauntered ahead behind first-half goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo. The visitors were comfortable, the home crowd subdued, and Pep Guardiola’s team appeared to be strolling toward a statement win.
Then the game flipped. Solanke halved the deficit when he bundled the ball over the line — appearing to kick the back of Marc Guehi’s leg, with the ricochet trickling in — and the striker leveled with a deft, flying back-flick that looped over goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the far corner, a scorpion-kick finish that jolted the stadium to life.
“The first half was difficult — we couldn’t get near them at times,” Solanke said. “The second half was a different story. In the second half, we were great and grew with confidence and belief.”
City’s wobble extends a patchy run that has seen defeats to Manchester United and Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. “It is a setback but we are still there,” Guardiola said. “There are 14 games to go and a lot of points. We will see.”
Arsenal, which routed Leeds 4-0 on Saturday, may not get a better chance to end a title drought that dates to 2004. The Gunners’ lead is six, Villa have slipped, and City have sputtered in the last fortnight.
Villa’s 1-0 loss to Brentford, meanwhile, stung twice. Unai Emery’s side played with a man advantage for more than half the match after Kevin Schade’s straight red card for kicking out at Matty Cash in the 42nd minute. But Dango Ouattara broke free down the right and, in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, scored at the second attempt for the only goal. Brentford then absorbed heavy pressure after the break to see it out.
Villa remain seven points adrift of Arsenal and suddenly have company on their shoulder: fourth-place Manchester United are closing fast after a 3-2 win over Fulham delivered by a stoppage-time strike from Benjamin Sesko.
United had to find their response late after throwing away a two-goal advantage earned by Casemiro and Matheus Cunha. Raul Jimenez, via a penalty, and Kevin netted for Fulham to level it, setting the stage for substitute Bruno Fernandes to arc a cross that Sesko took down before swiveling to curl home in front of the Stretford End.
“It’s the best feeling, I have to say,” United manager Michael Carrick said, invoking memories of the late winners that defined the club under Alex Ferguson. “People leave here with more than just, ‘United won today.’ It’s layers on top of that, the emotion and the feeling, and it’s why we all love it so much.”
Carrick has overseen wins over City and Arsenal during his short tenure, and United now have three straight league victories. The surge comes against a backdrop of continued discontent toward the club’s ownership: about 500 to 600 supporters protested before kickoff outside Old Trafford. On the field, United sit fourth and five points behind Villa with 14 rounds remaining in the push to return to the Champions League.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace — without star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who could be headed to AC Milan — drew 1-1 at 10-man Nottingham Forest. Neco Williams was sent off in the 45th minute for a handball on the goal line, but Palace couldn’t turn the numerical edge into three points.
What the day means for the Premier League picture:
- Arsenal hold a six-point lead with 14 matches left after Tottenham’s rally denied Manchester City at the finish.
- City’s recent vulnerability — two defeats in five across competitions — leaves Guardiola’s side with work to do.
- Aston Villa’s slip against 10-man Brentford trims their margin to fourth and brings resurgent Manchester United back into the conversation.
- Spurs’ resilience, even amid injuries, complicates the top-four race and could shape the run-in against the league’s heavyweights.
- Fan unrest continues to shadow United, but Carrick’s early results suggest momentum at Old Trafford.
For Arsenal, who handled their business at Leeds, the scoreboard broke perfectly. For City, there were flashes of control but also familiar fragility once a committed opponent accelerated the game. And for Tottenham, Solanke’s scorpion kick did more than rescue a point — it disrupted the champions’ rhythm and shifted the title’s emotional temperature back toward north London.
The margins will move again over the next 14 games. On Sunday, though, the standings tilted on a single acrobatic flick.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
