LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur striker Dominic Solanke was so impressed with his “remarkable” scorpion-kick goal against Manchester City that he couldn’t stop watching it on the big screen for the rest of the game.
As a cross came in just behind him, Solanke pulled off a brilliant improvised finish to deftly flick the ball with his heel over City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the corner of the net to complete Tottenham’s fightback in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League.
Solanke said he was forced to “make something out of nothing” and would be “watching that back a few times.”
He has started already.
“I was trying to stay focused on the game,” Solanke said, “but I heard the crowd cheering every time it was on the screen so I had a few looks.”
The goal was reminiscent of a scorpion-style effort scored by Olivier Giroud for Arsenal in a Premier League on Jan. 1, 2017, that won FIFA’s Puskas Award for the best goal that season.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank said after the match he hoped the rally could help the team and the fans “create some magic together.”
Frank has been under extreme pressure after just two home wins all season with fans regularly voicing their discontent, but he said: “I think we can create something magic together the players and the fans when we are united like we were especially second half but also in the [Champions League win over Borussia] Dortmund [on Jan. 20]. That atmosphere, intensity, that’s what pushed the players and they really needed it.
“I prefer it going more smoothly, I think that is fair to say, but this is football. In this spell I think we have done more good things than bad things but not enough performances have turned into results but now I am happy we have four decent performances and unbeaten.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
