President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame pay tribute to the national heroes at the National Heroes’ Mausoleum in Remera, on Sunday February 1. All photos by Olivier Mugwiza
A potentially pivotal result for Thomas Frank moves Spurs into 14th place. Man City, meanwhile, stay second, but are now six points behind leaders Arsenal.
Spurs striker’s two goals, including an incredible scorpion kick, wipe out visitors’ 2-0 lead
Dominic Solanke scored a sensational ‘scorpion-kick’ equaliser as he inspired Tottenham Hotspur to fight back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s side appeared to be in cruise control after goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo put them in command at half-time, before the game was turned on its head.
After reducing the visitors’ advantage eight minutes into the second half, Solanke brilliantly flicked Conor Gallagher’s cross beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma to complete the comeback.
Solanke‘s brace paved the way for a back-and-forth finale at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Xavi Simons’ curling attempt, which was tipped over by Donnarumma, the closest either came to snatching a winner.
A potentially pivotal result for Thomas Frank moves Spurs into 14th place. Man City, meanwhile, stay second, but are now six points behind leaders Arsenal.
How the match unfolded
Man City took the lead on 11 minutes when Cherki’s low drive found the bottom-left corner after Yves Bissouma cheaply lost possession.
Erling Haaland, who assisted Cherki’s opener, then came close to ending his goal drought in the top flight soon after, but the Norway international lofted his finish over the crossbar after surging on to a ball played over the top of Spurs’ high line.
But Man City’s dominance was rewarded in the 44th minute. Rodri cut out Radu Dragusin’s poor clearance and fed Bernardo Silva, who set up Semenyo to coolly dispatch with a neat first-time finish.
Spurs came out swinging after the break, though, and the deficit was halved when Solanke shrugged off Abdukodir Khusanov and managed to find the net, despite the best efforts of Marc Guehi.
And Solanke completed the comeback with his stunning 70th-minute effort, getting the back of his heel to Gallagher’s cross and sending the ball looping in over Donnarumma.
Man City’s goalkeeper thwarted Wilson Odobert before denying Simons, with Man City failing to capitalise on a goalmouth scramble at the other end as the spoils were shared.
Injury-hit Spurs dig deep
Frank has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, and while Spurs’ winless Premier League run was extended to six matches, this will be a performance that he can look back on with pride.
A lot has been made about Spurs’ attacking play under the Dane, and those frustrations were on show once again in a tepid first half for the hosts, with Simons’ free-kick in first-half stoppage time representing their only shot on target.
That being said, they were also all at sea defensively, and they were probably fortunate to go into half-time only 2-0 down.
One could feel sorry for Spurs, given they have only 11 senior players at their disposal, while five of those named on the bench had never kicked a ball in the Premier League.
Those issues were not helped when Pape Matar Sarr replaced captain Cristian Romero at the break, but that seemed to improve the hosts as Destiny Udogie’s shot stung the palms of Donnarumma shortly after the interval, setting the tone for a much-improved second-half performance.
Solanke’s first strike then breathed new life into the home supporters, but his second goal will take all the headlines for its ingenuity and execution.
Spurs, whose struggles at home this season are well documented, are back on the road next week when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
More Man City mistakes hand Arsenal further impetus
Fresh from sealing their spot in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, Man City arrived in north London with the wind in their sails and appeared to have strolled into an unassailable advantage, given how poor Spurs were in the first half.
But more errors caused Guardiola’s team to drop two points in their pursuit of Arsenal, who put the onus on their rivals by hammering Leeds United 4-0 on Saturday.
Haaland squandered a glorious opportunity to put his team further in front after Cherki’s opener, and though Semenyo’s fine goal was thoroughly deserved, the visitors appeared to believe the job was done and they wilted after the break.
Solanke’s double was no more than what Spurs merited for their improved display, and Donnarumma had to be alert to Odobert’s near-post attempt before tipping Simons’ curling shot over the bar to stop the hosts scoring a winner.
That being said, Man City had chances to win the match late on, too.
Tijjani Reijnders twice headed wide of the mark before Haaland scooped over, and Guardiola will surely look back at this game as two points dropped rather than one point gained.
Man City’s focus now turns to getting the job done in the EFL Cup against Newcastle United – they have a 2-0 aggregate lead in that semi-final tie – before they make the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool next weekend.
Club reports
Spurs report | Man City report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: “I’m extremely happy that we finally got a point out of a big second half. It felt like a big point, of course, because we’re playing against the best team in the Premier League in the last seven years, eight years.”
Pep Guardiola: “What happened in the Premier League today, sometimes you can control it, but the way the game is in England, this happens sometimes.”
