Dominic Solanke’s stunning scorpion kick saw Tottenham recover from a dismal first-half showing to rescue a draw against Manchester City – whose inability to defend a two-goal lead saw the title race tilt further in Arsenal’s favour.
Thomas Frank’s Spurs were once again booed off by their home fans at half-time as goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo put Pep Guardiola’s side in a comfortable two-goal lead – with the hosts offering next to nothing in the opening 45 minutes.
But Frank earned his money at half-time as Spurs looked like a completely different side at the break – with striker Solanke leading the way.
The forward’s excellent turn in the box saw him squeeze a ball in at the near post while under pressure from Marc Guehi. VAR checked a potential foul by Solanke on the City defender, but it was deemed he played the ball – which incurred the wrath of Guardiola.
The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the challenge by Solanke on Guéhi deemed not to be a foul as Solanke played the ball.
The goal accreditation panel has adjudged the goal to be a Solanke goal.
“If a central defender does that to a striker, it’s a penalty, right?” Guardiola said in his post-match press conference – admitting it created an “emotional issue” for his players.
And after more pressure from the home side, a deserved equaliser came as Solanke turned Conor Gallagher’s cross with a stunning flick from behind him to send the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wild.
Benjamin Sesko came off the bench to score a 94th-minute winner as Manchester United survived a Fulham fightback to make it three wins in a row under Michael Carrick and move into the top four to continue the Red Devil’s revival.
Fulham substitute Kevin followed up Raul Jimenez’s late penalty with a super strike to level things up in added time but, in another classic under the new boss, Sesko struck as Carrick matched Ruben Amorim’s longest Premier League winning streak at Man Utd in dramatic fashion.
