Tottenham roars back to draw with Man City and do Arsenal a favor in Premier League title race

Tottenham did fierce rival Arsenal a huge favor in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

Dominik Solanke scored a second-half double — including one from an outrageous scorpion kick — as Spurs came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw with second-place Manchester City, leaving Arsenal with a six-point lead with 14 games left.

It was almost the perfect day for the leaders, with Aston Villa — the other title contender — losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Brentford.

Villa stayed seven points adrift of Arsenal and was in danger of being reeled in by fourth-place Manchester United, which scored a stoppage-time winner through Benjamin Sesko to beat Fulham 3-2 for a third straight league win under new manager Michael Carrick.

Having already overseen victories over City and Arsenal in his short tenure, Carrick appears to have the magic touch at revitalized United.

The same cannot be said of Pep Guardiola at the moment.

This was a huge wasted opportunity for Guardiola's City, which was up against a heavily depleted Tottenham team and was cruising 2-0 ahead at halftime thanks to goals by Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo. At times, it was almost too easy for City in front of an apathetic home crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

City then collapsed as a revitalized Tottenham fought back. Solanke bundled in Spurs’ first goal — appearing to kick the back of Marc Guehi's leg, resulting in the ball dribbling over the line — and then grabbed the equalizer with a deft, flying back-flick that looped over City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the corner.

“The first half was difficult — we couldn't get near them at times,” Solanke said. “The second half was a different story. In the second half, we were great and grew with confidence and belief.”

In the last five games, City has looked vulnerable in losing twice — to United and tiny Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League — and now spluttering against an injury-hit Tottenham.

“It is a setback but we are still there," Guardiola said. "There are 14 games to go and a lot of points. We will see.”

Arsenal, a 4-0 winner at Leeds on Saturday, might not have a better chance to end its league title drought stretching back to 2004.

Villa played for more than half the match with an extra man after Brentford winger Kevin Schade’s straight red card for kicking out at Matty Cash in the 42nd minute after they had challenged for the ball.

In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Dango Ouattara escaped down the right and scored at the second attempt for what proved to be only goal as Brentford weathered a second-half onslaught.

United squandered a two-goal lead earned by goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, with Raul Jimenez — via a penalty — and Kevin scoring to bring Fulham briefly level at Old Trafford.

There was still time for Bruno Fernandes to send over a cross that was controlled by Sesko before he swiveled to curl home a finish in front of the Stretford End.

“It’s the best feeling, I have to say,” Carrick said about the kind of late winners United scored so often under his old manager, Alex Ferguson. "People leave here with more than just, ‘United won today.’ It’s layers on top of that, the emotion and the feeling, and it’s why we all love it so much.”

The match took place after a protest by around 500-600 United fans unhappy at the ownership of the 20-time champions, but the team is finally in a decent league position — fourth place — in its bid to return to the Champions League.

United is five points behind Villa with 14 rounds remaining.

Also Sunday, Crystal Palace — without star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta ahead of his possible move to AC Milan — drew 1-1 at 10-man Nottingham Forest, which had Neco Williams sent off in the 45th minute for a handball on the line.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tottenham's Dominic Solanke (19) is congratulated after scoring his side's 2nd goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in London, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in London, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko, left, scores his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Fulham in Manchester, England, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Manchester United's Matheus Cunha, right, celebrates with Manchester United's Amad Diallo, left, and Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Fulham in Manchester, England, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

Brentford's Dango Ouattara scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Brentford, in Birmingham, England, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. (Nigel French/PA via AP)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Illinois coach Brad Underwood doesn't need any reminders about what happened the last two times his team faced UConn.

He can just plug in the game tapes, rewind them and watch them again. Back in November, the Huskies led wire-to-wire in a 74-61 victory. Two years ago in the Elite Eight, UConn used a 30-0 run en route to a 77-52 victory on the way to a second straight national championship.

There's nothing the Fighting Illini can do to change those results now, but they do believe they can change the course of this series Saturday when they face UConn in their first Final Four clash in more than two decades.

“I’ve said all along, you just have to keep knocking on the door and our opportunities were going to come,” Underwood said in Indianapolis when asked about the impact of the 2024 postseason loss. “We learned a lot from that game. I thought that team was a Final Four team that just happened to play a damn good basketball team in the Elite Eight, so we didn’t get there. But I think we grew from that from the standpoint of understanding how hard it is, what that looks like.”

Underwood took those lessons, revised his plan and started plotting how to get the Fighting Illini (28-8) to their first Final Four since 2005. Now, after 39 seasons in the coaching ranks, Underwood has finally made it here in March Madness for the first time.

For Illinois, it's a new experience, too. The Illini last reached the national semifinals during their 2005 runner-up finish. The obstacle again will be getting past UConn (33-5).

But this looks like a very different matchup than this season's previous meeting with two more physical, more balanced and more experienced teams squaring off.

Huskies coach Dan Hurley has built his reputation on tough players eager to the dirty work and this group is more of the same.

Center Tarris Reed Jr. earned the East Region's Most Outstanding Player award by scoring 21.7 points and grabbing 13.5 rebounds in tourney wins over Furman, UCLA, Michigan State and Duke— including 31 points and 27 rebounds in Round 1.

Huskies Forward Alex Karaban already holds school records for most games played (149), most wins (125), most starts (148) and most 3-pointers (288) and now needs two more tourney wins to push his March Madness career mark to 19-1. That would send him past Hurley's brother, Bobby, for second all-time in NCAA tourney wins.

“Defense and rebounding, that's really been our calling card,” Karaban said as he chases a rare third title. “Every time we've had success or won championships, that's what our calling card has been.”

And, of course, UConn would not be playing at Lucas Oil Stadium without a remarkable 19-point rally and Brayton Mullins' miraculous 35-foot, 3-pointer to beat top-seeded Duke 73-72 last Sunday. Mullins is now playing just 37 minutes away from his hometown — Greenfield, Indiana.

Hurley, too, is chasing milestones. He needs one victory for career win No. 350, two for his 200th win at UConn, giving him his third national title in four years and the Huskies their seventh crown since 1999.

Just don't get fooled by what happened in November.

Mullins entered his college debut on a 10-minute restriction because of an early-season injury that forced him to miss UConn's first six games. Now he's playing in front of a home-state crowd that will include his family and perhaps a large contingent of local residents clad in UConn gear.

“I told him last night, I was like ‘Look, man, it’s time to get ready for Illinois," Mullins' father, Josh, told The Associated Press during Friday's open practice at the 72,500-seat football stadium turned basketball arena. “Just enjoy the hell out of the time we have right here. It's pretty awesome.”

Illinois is different, too. Guard Keaton Wagler, a second-team All-American, was just starting to emerge as a scoring threat in November. Today, he's the Illini's leading scorer (17.9 points) and the South Region MOP.

In November, forward Jake Davis was still coming off the bench and guard Andrej Stojakovic was still trying to find his groove. Davis now starts, Stojakovic's big plays off the bench have played a key role in fueling Illinois' tourney run and the 7-foot Ivisic twins, Tomislav and Zvonimir, have provided a needed physical presence.

The result: Indiana steamrolled its way through four tourney games, beating Penn, VCU, Houston and surprise Elite Eight participant Iowa all by double-digit margins. The second-seeded Cougars, who won a regional in Indy last year before losing in the title game, even were playing in Houston.

Now it's time for Underwood & Co. to prove they have what it takes to contend with the always sturdy Huskies, with a chance to erase the bleak memories from the previous matchups by reaching the school's second title game in front of what is expected to be a large contingent of orange-clad fans making the two-hour drive to Indy.

“I think from the game two years ago, it's a clean slate,” Stojakovic said. “But we're not really worried about that game. Obviously, we've gotten better (since November), had some guys return from injuries — both sides.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Illinois' Zvonimir Ivisic signs autographs during practice ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against UConn at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

UConn players run drills during practice ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against Illinois at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Illinois' Brandon Lee (1) knocks the ball away from teammate Keaton Wagler, right, during practice ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against UConn at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Illinois' Tomislav Ivisic takes a selfie with a fan following practice ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against UConn at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood waves during practice ahead of a national semifinal NCAA college basketball tournament game against UConn at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)