Tottenham boost Arsenal in title race

London, Feb. 3: 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.

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.

Mbappé lifts Real Madrid 

Kylian Mbappé came through for Real Madrid again, converting a penalty kick 10 minutes into second-half stoppage time to salvage a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and move Madrid back within a point of Spanish league leader Barcelona on Sunday.

Vinícius Júnior also scored for Madrid after again being jeered by fans early on at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Jude Bellingham, also booed when the lineup was announced, had to be replaced 10 minutes into the match because of a left hamstring injury.

Madrid was coming off a 4-2 loss at Benfica that dropped the team out of the eight automatic spots for the round of 16 of the Champions League. It will face Benfica again in the playoffs.

Bellingham was on his own when he seemed to pick up the injury. He immediately grabbed the back of his leg with his left hand before going to the ground. He received medical assistance and seemed emotional as he left the field under his own power.

Madrid did not provide a timetable for Bellingham's recovery but Spanish media said he is not likely to recover in time to face Benfica in the Champions League playoffs.

Pablo Fornals scored an 88th-minute winner to give fifth-place Real Betis a 2-1 win over 15th-place Valencia, which had won three in a row in all competitions. Chimy Ávila also scored for the hosts, three minutes after Luis Rioja had given Valencia the lead.

Seventh-place Celta Vigo drew 0-0 at 16th-place Getafe, which hasn't won in nine consecutive matches across all tournaments. Celta stayed winless in three straight games.

Martínez closer to club records

Lautaro Martínez is closing in on more records for Inter Milan. The Argentinian World Cup winner scored again on Sunday to set league leader Inter on its way to a 2-0 win at Cremonese in Serie A.

It was Lautaro's 170th goal for Inter and left him just one behind Roberto Boninsegna, who is in third place in the club's all-time scorers list. Ahead of them are only Alessandro Altobelli (209 goals) and Giuseppe Meazza (284).

Lautaro has scored 10 goals in his last 13 league matches to take his tally to 128 in Serie A and the 28-year-old is only 10 away from Benito Lorenzi, who is second among Inter's top scorers in Serie A. Meazza tops that list as well, with 197 league goals.

Lautaro headed in a corner in the 16th minute and — after embracing his teammates — he lifted up his shirt to show a happy birthday message for his daughter.

Piotr Zielinski doubled Inter's lead in the 31st minute with a fierce 30-yard strike that Cremonese goalkeeper Emil Audero appeared to have covered until it swerved in mid-air and went through his arms.

Inter extended its Serie A lead to eight points over second-placed AC Milan. 

And after crushing Napoli 3-0 last weekend, Juventus cantered to a 4-1 win at Parma on Sunday. Juventus moved to fourth, two points above Roma ahead of the capital team's match at Udinese on Monday.

Atalanta managed to draw 0-0 at Como despite playing almost the entire match with 10 men. (AP)