Solanke's scorpion damages City title bid as Spurs fight back to draw

0:06Welcome to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Another busy Super Sunday saw four games live on Sky Sports, rounded off by Tottenham against Manchester City. This is how we saw things at full time.

0:33truly a most remarkable football match and Dominic Solanke the aprobatic scorpion was the man who changed it with two second half goals for a Tottenham team which at half time had seemed bereft Thomas Frank has seen some spirit he has seen some uplift he has felt a change of mood which was unforeseeable at the break. And for Manchester City, this feels as though it was a costly day. They were cruising. Jerky 11 minutes, Semenio just before half-time. Tottenham just didn't appear to have a foothold of any sort. But the second half, so improbably, Gary, the second half simply changed direction. A bizarre, bizarre game at half-time.

1:26was almost sad in this ground how low you just feel that there was absolutely no way back for spurs and it was a procession for city the second half you've got to give credit to thomas frank's men and they've played a second half that will have taken quite a lot of pressure off that man in your shot there and vicario gives him a hug and a little bit of a smile who'd have thought that 45 minutes ago but for city and another bad one where they've demonstrated Again, they're defensive vulnerabilities, they're complacency. And Arsenal are the real winners. So they are. Arsenal win, Villa don't. And nor, as it turns out, to Manchester City.

2:05And for the second time in London this weekend, a team that was booed off at half-time is cheered off at the end. Manchester City a little forlorn as they meet their supporters. Spurs at least with an afternoon that enables them to get their teeth into this Premier League campaign. And there is the reason why it finishes down the lane, Kelly. Tottenham, Oxford 2, Manchester City 2. Peter and Gary, thank you. And it's a result that's being celebrated right across North London. Yes, a well-rescued point for Tottenham, but Spurs fans won't want to hear it. That goal, that equalising goal, will have been celebrated just as much by Arsenal fans for whom the gap between themselves and Manchester City is now six points.

2:51But it was such a strange turnaround in the second half, Jamie. From a Spurs perspective, first of all, what changed for them? Yes, Dominic Solanke was on great form, but their overall team performance? Well, I think we take it to the dressing room at half-time. That must have been a really dark, difficult place for everybody concerned. Romero doesn't come out for the second half. He's your captain. You've got no Grand Theven, no Romero. Then you just think to yourself, I've been in this position myself thinking, this team is so much better than us, this could be 5-0. The players were despondent, there's no energy in the stadium.

3:24But somehow they managed within themselves to just turn it around and it was incredible. Javi Simmonds, that man there was fantastic. You end up with Paulina and Dragacen who's been out for probably a year with a crucial ligament, which is your two centre-backs. He adds energy. You know, Conor in midfield I thought was fantastic as well. Conor Gallagher, he gave you some, Pap Saar gave you energy. And then it just showed you as well how much they've missed Dominic Solanke. And that's been really difficult for the manager because you saw his quality today. But from Tottenham's point of view, we have to congratulate him because they've been battered by everybody.

3:56You know, everybody's looked at this Tottenham side. The manager, he's going to get the sack. He's struggling. They can't turn it around. They showed tremendous character today. And we don't say that very often about this Tottenham side. You know, Archie Gray was magnificent at right back. So second half was just completely different. Now, is it something to build on? I genuinely have no idea. But just enjoy this for what it was, Tottenham fans, because it's been a really difficult season for you. From Manchester City's point of view, it's a big two points dropped in terms of the title race, particularly because there was an opportunity here to put Aston Villa to bed as contenders because they lost earlier on today.

4:29What changed for them, Mike? I think at halftime you were saying, look, City haven't been at their full strength, but they haven't had to be. But they didn't seem to have that next gear to go to in the second half. They'd lost control in the game. Spurs come out and they up the tempo and if you watch Manchester City every time a team ups a tempo, they find it very difficult to deal with it and I don't know why, you're bringing Gay, you're bringing Semenyo really good players, we talked about them before the show started and I'm looking at this Man City team to be so much in control and in the second half in lack of control and not getting the ball back when they're supposed to Every time Man City concede a counter-attack, I've got my heart in my mouth.

5:17For all the good that they do, for how pleasing they are on the eye, the control, the passes, the short passes. They talked about Bernardo Silva and the runs and Shirky, how good it was. But the defensive side of the game is equally as important. And every time a team goes up against them and ups the tempo, they find it too difficult. Manchester City found it difficult in the second half, particularly against Tottenham. And while Tottenham fans may well be happy to have earned a point from 2-0 down against City, we do have to say the big winners of the weekend were Arsenal. This was a huge game for them against Leeds United, and they won it by four goals to nil.

5:54Another big turnaround in London as well was Chelsea's 3-2 win against West Ham. They were 2-0 down against them and came back to take all three points. Late twist in the tail in the first game between Brighton and Everton as well, with a late, late equaliser. Liverpool 4-1 winners against Newcastle in the late kickoff on Saturday night. Bournemouth with a 2-0 victory against Wolves. And then earlier today, Aston Villa, as we've mentioned, lost. It was 1-0 to 10-man Brentford at Villa Park. Manchester United, late, late drama in that game with Fulham with a late equaliser. Then Manchester United with the winner from Seshko.

6:29Nottingham Forest with a 1-0 draw against Crystal Palace. It's a red card in that game as well for Nico Williams, who saved the ball on the goal line, and then Chris O 'Pallas converted the resulting penalty from that one. All the action, all the big dramatic moments, all the goals, more importantly, are on the Sky Sports app. If you scan the QR code, that will take you straight there, and you can watch that without signing in or without paying for it. Monday night football still to come. Sunderland against Burnley. 8 o 'clock is the kickoff. You can see all the buildup from 6.30 on Sky Sports Premier League.

7:02So, here is how we are at the bottom of the table. Wolves still with only eight points after their defeat. West Ham stay inside the relegation places. Nottingham Forest extend their gap between them and the bottom three to six points, even though it was just a draw in that game. Leeds also on 26 points. Tottenham go up a place. They're in 14th. They've got 29 points after their draw. Bournemouth move up into 12th with a victory this weekend. And here's how it changes things at the top. Liverpool sixth place, Chelsea in fifth place, Manchester United now up into fourth place and a point clear of Chelsea.

7:44Aston Villa's defeat means that they are now seven points off the league leaders. Manchester City dropped points. It means they are six points off Arsenal at the top of the table.

8:03Are you a fan of Fantasy Premier League? If the answer is yes, then make sure you check out the Sky Sports Fantasy podcast. Whether you're a hardcore player or someone that takes a more casual approach, there's something for everyone. I'm James Savandra and every week I'll be joined by one of the best FPL managers in the game. They'll give you all the tips and advice you need to beat your mini league rivals. They'll give you top transfer advice and provide you with important information, like the best time to use your chips. So make sure you tune in to the Sky Sports Fantasy Podcast. It's available now on skysports.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

8:47Welcome back to the Sky Sports Premier League Podcast. Let's get back to the studio for more reaction to today's game. Well, I'm not sure that anybody saw that second half coming. Tottenham well in front in the second 45 minutes of that game. 15 shots for Manchester City overall in the game. Those six shots on target for Spurs is the most they've managed. This is the most dominant half of football that they've had since the opening half of the season. There are 26 touches in the opponent with five of those, sorry, six shots coming in the second half of the game. 26 touches in the opponent's box over the 90 minutes.

9:26101 passes in the final third. Yes, Manchester City dominated possession, but Tottenham take a share of the points in large part down to the performance of the scorer of both goals, Dominic Zolanki, the second of them, that spectacular scorpion kick. And he's talking to Patrick Davidson.

9:46Don, you had your backs firmly against the wall there. How much belief, how much fight did it take to turn that round? Yeah, a lot. I think it was a game of two halves. The first half was difficult, couldn't get near them at times. But yeah, we've seen 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. So yeah, we know that we need to try to start games quicker because obviously the first half wasn't good enough, but the reaction in the second half was great.

10:17So what was said and done then at half time to turn that? Obviously a few tactical tweaks. it's obviously quite difficult in the game to get all the information in but obviously half time we have a chance to do that but yeah I think second half like I said we had to come out and show fight and belief and that's what we did And a change of shape as well I mean I presume that the manager and the rest of the team actually didn't want to lose your captain but getting you a bit more support up there did that help? Yeah for sure I think like I said we needed to change something because it was very difficult to press in the first half day I had a lot of bodies deep and we couldn't quite get close to them like I mentioned But yeah, obviously we made that change in formation the second half and it worked well.

10:57Was there also that sense that you needed to give the crowd something and then they would come with you? Yeah, for sure. I think we know we haven't been as good as we want to be in the league. And we need the fans behind us. And I think obviously the first half wasn't great, like I mentioned. But in the second half, when we got the first goal, it started getting behind us, got the second goal. And like I said, we grew with confidence and belief. And yeah, the last few minutes of the game could have gone on to win, like I mentioned. So, yeah, it was great. And when we're all together, I think we can fly.

11:25Was there just that sense in the first half, because of maybe the run you've had, almost like everyone had lost confidence. The team wasn't playing with so much energy. And then because of that, you don't get the atmosphere from the crowd. Yeah, like I mentioned, we know we're not good enough in the league at the moment, but we're trying to build on it. Obviously, that's four games I'm beating now. And I think two draws in the prem, but we want to start winning games for sure. We haven't got any easy games coming up. So we need to focus on that. and keep building. But yeah, I think like you mentioned, when everyone's on it and we've got the crowd behind us and everyone's got that confidence and belief, we know we can beat anyone.

12:00It's obviously a huge contribution from you. Just tell us about the first goal. Clever bit of movement to check back inside. And then is it you that gets the final touch? Even from a few replays, it's quite hard to tell. Yeah, I think we know they had a high line. So we wanted to exploit that at times. And I wanted to just play on the last offender and it was a great ball from Xavi. And yeah, I took a touch inside and it's definitely my goal. I don't know why I'm saying that. Sorry, Rob. I think it has gone down as your goal, in fairness. It's just quite hard to tell. It's quite an unusual finish, I guess.

12:30Yeah, I think it was Mark coming in for the last ditch tackle. But, yeah, it was a nice finish. So, talking of unusual and also brilliant finishes, talk us through the scorpion kick. Yeah, it was a lovely goal, to be fair. I think I had to improvise a bit. It was great work from Connor. The ball was behind me a bit. But, yeah, I loved those finishes. is trying to make something out of nothing. And when it goes in, it's remarkable. So I'll be watching that back a few times. Yeah, I mean, there's one replay in particular where it looks brilliant. Did you look up at the big screen and see it? Yeah, I did.

13:02I was trying to stay focused on the game, but I had the crowd cheering every time it was on the screen. So I had a few looks. And lastly, quickly, are you fitting well? Because you hobbled off at the end. Yeah, no, I'd be good. Just rode my ankle a little bit, but I'll be fine. OK, well, you're the player of the match. Brilliant goal, brilliant performance. Thank you. Well done. Cheers, mate. Well done. Well, a fit Dominic Solanke isn't something that Thomas Frank has been able to call upon too many times in his time as manager. What difference does he make to that Spurs side? You said it before the game, Jamie, that he brings something a bit different.

13:33He's just their best centre forward. It's as simple as that. I don't think anybody's close to him in that Tottenham side that can give you the qualities that he possesses. Strength, skill. He showed everything in that first goal. It was absolutely magnificent play by number nine. And they are few and far between. and when you can see when he's fit, how difficult he is to play against and you could ask those two Manchester City defenders, they struggle with that physicality that he has but not many have physicality and ability and this is what he has in abundance. He does ever so well there, he spoke about great ball by Javi Simmons, that touch there, brilliant, then he uses unbelievable strength, gets obviously a little bit of fortune.

14:08You can see here the two centre-backs, Nico O 'Reilly and Kushinov trying to keep him on side. You know, he's got his right arm out there but it's right at the last second, just before he plays his pass, You can see 8-0, he just drops a little bit deeper, and that's what keeps Dominic Solanke on. Brilliant pass by Javi Simmons. You can see he's already on the move. They never did this in the first half. So important. Then you get that first touch. Look at that brute strength. Yeah, fortune with that finish, but straight away, everything changes. But look at the power that he's got here. Kushanov, who's a powerful boy himself, he just uses his body, leans into him.

14:40Good first touch, then that. He uses all of his strength. Get off. Too strong for him. Then he does like a chop-sit back on his right foot. Gay thinks he's done enough, but that finish just gets it across the line. All of a sudden, Bedlam in the stadium. And he talks about exploiting that high line from Manchester City. Yeah, I mean, it's so difficult as a centre-half when you're looking over your shoulder. And it's not only his running power that Jay mentions, it's his timing of his run. You see the way he bent his run there. And Nico O 'Reilly, and we'll probably talk about it from a defensive point of view a little bit later on, what made it so hard was, should he push up or should he go back?

15:17Nico O 'Reilly in that position. If you're going to be in the back line, just go back. What's the worst that can happen? You're in front of him, you clear the ball away, you reset. But it was his... I just want to look at it again here, because when the ball stopped there, Kels, obviously Kusinov's playing and then Nico O 'Reilly's coming round in that position there. And if we can run it on slowly here, there is no advantage. Now, you might as well stop, pause it there. He's tried to catch him offside, but if he's onside being played on by 8 nori there then there's nothing really you can do and then you're scrambling back to get in position there is no problem I understand why they're trying to do it because no one wants to run behind Solanke that is his strength but when you're in that position here you've got to take that gamble to go back regroup and then start again but in terms of him and the run it was absolutely excellent excellent time brilliant piece of play and would I mean I think we may hear more from this from Pep Guardiola Is there a foul in here by Solanke potential?

16:21I think it's a really difficult one, but you just see there, he gets a bit of his right foot to it, so I don't think that is a foul. But I'm sure if you're the Manchester City manager, you are complaining. Meeks, what do you think? Yeah, I actually think it could have been a foul here, just because Gaye's got his foot there and he's kicked into him. He sort of used his foot to shield him and protect him. If someone kicks his foot, if that's anywhere on the pitch, I think you get a foul for that. Yeah, Guardiola was not happy about it. And I'm sure we'll hear from him again in his post-match. But I think what happened as well, Kel, second half, is the system changed because obviously Romero goes off.

16:55Then you go to a 4-3-3, if you like. So that then enables you to go man for man in midfield. Because in the first half, Mike and I were talking, he had the freedom in the park, Rodri. He was always a spare man in there. Because when you play a 3-4-3, you can't get close. Your two midfield players just never really were able to get close enough to Manchester City. Straight away, that system changes. Now, managers will always talk about tactics, and we hear it a lot at the moment about how tactics can change games. And yes, we're changing detail system. But one thing that never changes in football is you have to win duels.

17:25You have to win individual battles. You have to win second balls. What Conor Gallagher does for the second goal is everything for me. I get fed up hearing about tactics and systems and everything. This is what you have to do in football. He has no right to win this Conor Gallagher. He's on the halfway line now. Look, he goes and wins that. He wins that challenge. Then he wins the next one. Then all of a sudden, everything changes. You can see then that Solanke makes a great run, improvises, as he said it, beautifully. But this is what you have to do in football. They never did this in the first half.

17:54That's brilliant. You can imagine Simeone loving that when he was at Atletica with him. A brilliant piece of play. The scorpion kick is magnificent. Is it the best scorpion kick we've ever seen in a Premier League? Well, we've got a couple more contenders, Kelly. We will have a look at them in a second. But we can enjoy some and explain it. What a magnificent play. Unbelievable. because he's got a leaning back. Look, it's hard. And there's no defender anticipating that, is there? No, you can't read that. I mean, it could have been stopped at sauce beforehand, but the way he adjusted his body and sort of slowed up his run and then improvisation to do that, it was just magnificent.

18:29And Donnarumma, how big is he, 6 '7"? He's got to be. He's massive. He just cannot get his paws to it. Brilliant piece of... Oh, no, I've just done it. My kids will enjoy that one. What are you doing? Six foot seven, I said. You knew what he was doing. No, I didn't. Let's move on to actually looking at some of the... Just because we can, for no other reason than just watching Thorpey and Kik. But these happened a week apart, Kelly. A week apart. Mkhitaryan with the first one. Great ball by Ibrahimovic. Magnificent. We never thought we'd see one as good as that. And then a week later, we saw this, Mika.

19:00I mean, it's a rude Arsenal palace, wasn't it? Look at the way he runs. He's breaking his neck to get in the box. I mean, that's the one, isn't it? He's so far behind him to adjust his body and get that. And it always looks better when it goes in off the bar, doesn't it? It feels unfair to start ranking scorpion kicks because they're all spectacular, but that's the best one. That's number one. Very good. That is the best one. Very good. But Dominic Solanke's was very impressive. And there is one more to have a look at as well. I think there's another one to see. I think... No, that was... Oh, no, that was it.

19:36Yeah, I thought there was another one to come. Oh, is there?

19:41Who is this? Robert. Oh, Robert. He had some ability. Yeah, he could play. Fulham, the opponents. That was an unusual one, yeah. Yeah, the red away kit for Fulham. How has he done that? I know. You forgot about that one, didn't you? Beautiful, Kelly. Yes, I like that one too. We'll talk lots more about Manchester City between now and 7.30, But it's a huge game in the title race, Micah. This is one. They've come to a Spurs side who are struggling, particularly at home in the Premier League. They need to keep pace with Arsenal, who had a magnificent 4-0 win against Leeds United yesterday. And they drop points.

20:19Yeah, I think City will be kicking themselves. We keep saying, or I keep saying, that City are in the hunt. And if they perform like they did in the second half, they're not in the hunt. The first half was so good. Pep's game is all about control. So when he, on top like that, score one, two and three, they didn't put the game to bed. Spurs come in. As soon as the tempo went up, they didn't know how to deal with it. And I just want to look at Solanke's second goal again. Not right now, you're not. Oh, we're going to look at it after that. We will definitely look at that again. And we'll look at it more from a Manchester City point of view.

20:53Because I know you want to pick apart some of their defending, which we will do. And we will talk lots more about the title race as well as Manchester City go two-all up and end up drawing two-all against Tottenham.

21:30to use it either. Just head to your app store to download it. For now, let's get more analysis of today's game and head back to the studio.

21:48Manchester City have dropped points again, just one win in their last six. This time it was at Tottenham having been 2-0 up. Here's Pep Guardiola with Patrick Davison.

22:01well Pep a result that was just impossible to see at half time across the 90 minutes what did you make of it? yeah it was a good game after the goal they conceded we had a struggle 10, 15, 20 minutes and after we came back again so yeah in general it was a really good performance unfortunately we were going to win you obviously or I guess you'd be particularly satisfied first off Can you just talk about the game plan that gave you control? A big part of it was to get Semenyo and Cherki isolating their wide centre-backs and cause them problems? No, the game plan is to try to play with the ball and try to score goals and not concede.