Thomas Frank watched his Tottenham Hotspur team go down to two first half goals, and then watched them fight to come back into the game in the second half to secure a point at home on Sunday in a thrilling match.The Cityzens struck around the 11th minute mark through Rayan Cherki after Erling Haaland picked Yves Bissouma’s pocket to set the Frenchman up with a pass out wide. The rest of the half was City's to lose, and they ensured that they went into the break with another solid counterattacking goal, this time from Antoine Semenyo.It looked to be another loading effort for Spurs, who have been unable to translate their form in other competitions to the Premier League, the one that arguably matters the most. That was until striker Dominic Solanke pulled one back for the team shortly after the start of the second half, albeit in controversial fashion.The home side piled on the pressure as momentum shifted in their favour, leaving Pep Guardiola's side having to deal with scraps. Then, in the 70th minute, Solanke, who was just returning from injury, produced a stunning finish to turn the frowns and boos in the stands into smiles and loud cheers.New signing Connor Gallagher squared a pass into the box towards the striker, who acrobatically hooked the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the City goal with a stunning scorpion kick. City held on, however, to ensure that they didn't leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with nothing.Frank praised his returning striker's impact on the team, and also stated that his injury-depleted squad is “growing bit by bit” as the Premier League season rolls on.“He's not there fitness-wise where he should be, because he's been out for so long. We've been, in a way, a little bit forced to play him. I think it's pretty evident that he's relatively important for us - four goals in four games, with him being on his 70-80% of fitness and top sharpness.“Imagine City playing without Haaland for six months. We've been quite hard hit with injuries, in general, but Dom was excellent. 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."“I said it before, this team's ability to respond to setbacks and show resilience, I think we are growing it bit by bit. Not all the results have gone with us, but, for example, I think it's been some good, top performances and mentality against Bournemouth, West Ham and Villa, we just didn't get at least a point or something out of it. So now we get the point as well, on top of a good performance against Dortmund, more good than bad against Burnley - I know it looks bad because we only get a point, but a game we could and should easily have won with the chances we created, and a big performance against Frankfurt.“I think that shows everything about the team and what they are building. The players... very proud of the players.”
Thomas Frank watched his Tottenham Hotspur team go down to two first half goals, and then watched them fight to come back into the game in the second half to secure a point at home on Sunday in a thrilling match.
The Cityzens struck around the 11th minute mark through Rayan Cherki after Erling Haaland picked Yves Bissouma’s pocket to set the Frenchman up with a pass out wide. The rest of the half was City's to lose, and they ensured that they went into the break with another solid counterattacking goal, this time from Antoine Semenyo.
It looked to be another loading effort for Spurs, who have been unable to translate their form in other competitions to the Premier League, the one that arguably matters the most. That was until striker Dominic Solanke pulled one back for the team shortly after the start of the second half, albeit in controversial fashion.
The home side piled on the pressure as momentum shifted in their favour, leaving Pep Guardiola's side having to deal with scraps. Then, in the 70th minute, Solanke, who was just returning from injury, produced a stunning finish to turn the frowns and boos in the stands into smiles and loud cheers.
New signing Connor Gallagher squared a pass into the box towards the striker, who acrobatically hooked the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the City goal with a stunning scorpion kick. City held on, however, to ensure that they didn't leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with nothing.
Frank praised his returning striker's impact on the team, and also stated that his injury-depleted squad is “growing bit by bit” as the Premier League season rolls on.
“He's not there fitness-wise where he should be, because he's been out for so long. We've been, in a way, a little bit forced to play him. I think it's pretty evident that he's relatively important for us - four goals in four games, with him being on his 70-80% of fitness and top sharpness.
“Imagine City playing without Haaland for six months. We've been quite hard hit with injuries, in general, but Dom was excellent. 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."
“I said it before, this team's ability to respond to setbacks and show resilience, I think we are growing it bit by bit. Not all the results have gone with us, but, for example, I think it's been some good, top performances and mentality against Bournemouth, West Ham and Villa, we just didn't get at least a point or something out of it. So now we get the point as well, on top of a good performance against Dortmund, more good than bad against Burnley - I know it looks bad because we only get a point, but a game we could and should easily have won with the chances we created, and a big performance against Frankfurt.
“I think that shows everything about the team and what they are building. The players... very proud of the players.”
