Match Report & Player Ratings: Tottenham 2-2 Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s legendary reign at Manchester City may have been announced exactly a decade ago but a seventh Premier League title for the Catalan may be in the distance after Dominic Solanke scored twice to share the spoils in north London on Sunday.

An awkward atmosphere welcomed first-half goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo – and a 2-0 lead which could have meant City made it three consecutive wins at Spurs for the first time since 1974.

But a shift in momentum, motivation and spirit in the second half saw Solanke score twice; a fortunate stabbed finish inside the box and an unbelievable scorpion kick less than 20 mintes after. As a result, Mikel Arteta’s side now stand six points clear at the top, with only 14 games remaining. 

Thomas Frank’s side towered the likes of City, Real Madrid and Barcelona following the final of the UEFA Champions League games in the league phase but here, with a dispiriting home record, partnered by the eerie atmosphere in north London, Guardiola’s side stumbled after an excellent first-half showing.

It all started with Semenyo, who was first to attack Spurs – the club he scored his final goal for Bournemouth against ahead of his £64 million move to Manchester – with a low shot that was saved rather than comfortably by Guglielmo Vicario inside two minutes. 

On an afternoon where many Arsenal fans would want their north London rivals to condemn City in an effort to retain the seven-point gap separating them and the Premier League leaders, it was City who scored twice before the half-time break, when some home supporters deciding to make an early exit.

The game was only 11 minutes old when Cherki opened the scoring. A crucial tackle by Bernardo Silva and a pass across to the Frenchman from Erling Haaland on the right preceded a precise and simple finish, which took a flick off Radu Dragusin’s foot on its way in. 

Frank’s 0.82 points per home game is the worst of any Tottenham manager in Premier League history and a dull first-half showing didn’t suggest that would improve anytime soon. Before the hosts knew it, City extended their lead through Semenyo.

His 95th minute winner at the Vitality Stadium came from the Tottenham defence’s lack of urgency and this conversion showed zero progression in the three weeks since. Once again, poor decision making led Dragusin to clear the ball awkwardly and Rodri soon found possession, drilling it towards Silva in the box. 

The pass from Rodri drew Cristian Romero towards the ball and after Silva helped it on, Semenyo was left with an open shot on goal – slotting home to become the first player to score against Spurs for two clubs since Eric Cantona, who did so for Manchester United and Leeds United in the 1992-93 campaign. 

The chances flowed much earlier than the second goal, more so around the 20th minute when Cherki forced Vicario into a stunning save after dribbling past both Romero and Dragusin. Shortly before, Haaland had the opportunity to lift the ball over the Spurs’ keeper but overhit his chance, which looped over the crossbar. 

A second-half revival from Tottenham first saw Gianluigi Donnarumma prevent Destiny Udogie from the left side of the penalty area before Solanke finally helped pierced the City net, courtesy of a devoted, and failed, intervention by Guehi.

Spurs’ pressure became unbearable for Guardiola’s side and yet even after fresh substitutions, Solanke was unmatched and stabbed the ball into the top-left corner of Donnarumma’s net with an acrobatic scorpion kick. 

Change was needed for City and after Xavi Simons forced Donnarumma into another world-class save, the visitors got a chance to score a late winner, but Tijjani Reijnders steered Silva’s cross wide of the post, dealing a huge blow the the Citizens’ title hopes. 

Here’s how we rated the Manchester City players from their draw with Tottenham on Sunday evening-

Starting XI

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7

Denied Udogie but did all he could for the Solanke goal. Wasn’t really tested in the first-half but faced many shots in the second period and handled them well. His flaws are often a projection of the defensive weaknesses in City’s side. 

Matheus Nunes – 4

In the first half, he performed decently but was hesitant with the ball in the latter stages and didn’t do well at all with the job of dealing with Udogie and Tel as pressure built onto the visitors.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 5

Performed well in the early stages and was calm on the ball despite his avoidable yellow in the opening 22 minutes. Meanwhile, he could have done much better when Spurs pulled one back and so he must work on righting those wrongs. 

Marc Guehi – 6.5

Unfortunate to come out at the wrong end of the challenge with Solanke but equally fortunate to avoid picking up an injury as well. Other than the one flaw, it’s apparent that City’s defence is stronger, more structured and organised with Guehi in there. A poor result should not be blamed on his adequate, individual performance.

Rayan Ait-Nouri – 5.5

Was strong down the left and perhaps shouldn’t have been replaced by Gonzalez at 70 minutes. Moved the ball well with O’Reilly down the left but failed to impress in the second period.

Nico O’Reilly – 5.5

Appeared sharp on the left flank and in midfield alongside Ait-Nouri. He often drifted inwards to supplement City’s possession-heavy approach but has to do better in the build-up to Spurs’ second goal, like many others on the pitch.

Rodri – 6

Sent Haaland through with a sumptuous ball but it’s a shame that the Norway international couldn’t calculate his finish adequately. Still, a strong performance in the middle despite Spurs’ lack of courage. 

Bernardo Silva – 6

Won the ball in midfield for the opener and captained his side excellently here. After a few underwhelming performances, he was a bright spark in North London on Sunday. He dropped back more often than not, and opened gaps with quick-thinking runs.

Rayan Cherki – 7

Scored his second of the week after contributing to one of the two goals against Galatasaray at home. He stood out at the Etihad in that game and Sunday’s clash was no different. Could have got a second if Vicario didn’t deny him inside the opening 24 minutes. 

Antoine Semenyo – 6.5

In possession, Semenyo was wasteful at times but seemed to run much more than he has done in previous fixtures. He was also City’s furthest player forward for a long period and played as a shadow striker alongside Haaland. A great goal to boost his performance. 

Erling Haaland – 4.5

Nearly scored his 41st goal for club and country when sent through by Rodri but overhit the final step. Had a couple of chances come his way but wasted his opportunities in tight-knit situations in the box.

Substitutes

Nico Gonzalez – 3

Didn’t look as though he wanted to play at times and was way off the mark for Solanke’s second goal. 

Tijjani Reijnders – 5

Had a chance with less than 13 minutes to go and made a positive impact in this draw that will ultimately feel like a loss. 

Phil Foden – 5

Made a few passes here and there in the 11 minutes he played, wasn’t enough time for him to make a significant impact without scoring or providing an assist. 

Omar Marmoush – 5

Came on with mere minutes remaining and didn’t do anything to warrant a fair rating.