Explained: What Is a Scorpion Kick and Where Dominic Solanke’s Goal Ranks

The Premier League produced a rare flicker of magic on Sunday when Dominic Solanke’s improvised piece of skill gave Spurs an unexpected equaliser in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With a ball behind him from a cross put in by Conor Gallagher, Solanke produced an instinctive flick with his heel which took the ball over City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and into the net.

The goal completed Tottenham’s fightback and now takes its place among the best scorpion-kick goals the game has ever produced.

The Tottenham striker was clearly taken by his own effort.

Solanke admitted he was so impressed by the “remarkable” goal that he kept glancing up at the big screen as replays rolled throughout the remainder of the match.

Speaking after the game, the Spurs striker said he had been forced to “make something out of nothing” and expected to be “watching that back a few times”.

“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 inevitably drew comparisons with Olivier Giroud’s famous scorpion kick for Arsenal against Crystal Palace on January 1, 2017, an effort that later won the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the season.

What is a scorpion-kick goal?

A "scorpion-kick goal" is when a player scores by flicking up a leg to reach a ball that is behind them. The shape made imitates that of a scorpion and its tail.

The technique itself is most famously associated with René Higuita, whose acrobatics for Colombia in the mid-1990s helped define the move.

Higuita’s scorpion, however, came as a goalkeeper’s clearance in a friendly at Wembley in 1995, struck after the referee’s whistle had already gone.

It was spectacular but counted for little. Solanke’s finish, by contrast, came under pressure, in open play, and found the net.

That alone places him in a rare group of players who have successfully turned the scorpion kick into a scoring weapon.

Here is how Solanke’s goal fits into the history of the most memorable scorpion kicks in world football.

René Higuita (England v Colombia)

The former Colombia goalkeeper stunned the crowd at the old Wembley with his audacious clearance in a friendly against England in 1995.

Nicknamed El Loco, Higuita has since been widely credited as the inventor of the scorpion kick.

Edinson Cavani (Napoli v Juventus)

Arriving at the back post at full speed during a game against Juventus in January 2011, Edinson Cavani launched himself onto the end of a cross and executed a flawless scorpion finish.

Cavani’s scoring record at Napoli was formidable, with 78 goals in 97 league starts, but few strikes were as memorable as this one, which formed part of a hat-trick against Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain v Bastia)

Any catalogue of extraordinary goals would be incomplete without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

During a Ligue 1 game between PSG and Bastia in October 2013, Ibrahimovic found the net with a scorpion kick during a commanding 4-0 win.

A cross from the right wing, deflected high by a Bastia defender, allowed Ibrahimovic to extend his leg and steer the ball into the far corner.

In his career, the "Swedish lion" has scored a scorpion and assisted one, a fact that fits neatly with his reputation.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United v Sunderland, Dec, 2016)

A deep cross from the right wing by Ibrahimovic seemed to be drifting behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan during a Premier League game against Sunderland, but the Armenian read the flight perfectly.

Dropping low, he flicked the ball with his heel and sent a looping effort past Jordan Pickford.

The goal came in a 3-1 win, though it later emerged that Mkhitaryan was offside in a pre-VAR era, a detail that slightly tempers its legacy.

Olivier Giroud (Arsenal v Crystal Palace, January, 2017)

Six days after Mkhitaryan’s effort, Giroud produced what many still regard as the definitive scorpion-kick goal.

His elegant finish against Crystal Palace involved angling his foot in a way that appeared to defy logic.

Giroud later described the moment as being “touched by God’s grace”, and the strike went on to win the Puskas Award.

Solanke’s goal now sits alongside these moments, and its significance in a Premier League contest against Pep Guardiola's mighty Manchester City speaks for itself.

While debates over the greatest scorpion kick will continue, his finish against City has already secured its place among football’s most audacious and celebrated acts of improvisation.