Everton 3-3 Man City: Hill Dickinson’s thrilling comeback saved Josep Guardiola’s side a point, but Arsenal remain in the lead in the Premier League title race.
Josep Guardiola watched Man City relinquish control of the title race
When Tierno Barrie scored the second goal of an amazing night with a side-footer, Pep Guardiola simply walked to his seat, sat down, drank some water and stared out into the night.
Manchester City’s manager thought the game was over. And he thought the Premier League title game was almost certain. His side was in full control, but for some reason lost the plot.
And never mind the dramatic comeback in which Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku managed to win points from a truly bizarre match. That crazy 15 minutes or so when City forgot how to defend still gives Arsenal a huge boost in the title race.
Now it’s really theirs to lose. And looking at the fixtures, it’s hard to see them losing it.
But while City’s collapse during that dire period was inexplicable, at least they showed a resilience that will serve them well during the remaining run-ins.
read more: Premier League: Explains the decision to concede Everton’s goal against Man Cityread more: Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal to play like a ‘beast’ as they aim to reach Champions League final
And when you look back at this draw, and Everton’s three-goal breakthrough, you’ll probably think they were too comfortable in this game.
For about half an hour they were undone by complacency.
Perhaps that sense of satisfaction came from knowing they were comfortably the better team, even though it was only the Doc offense that proved dominant in the first half.
This breakthrough was all due to individual talent. Doc was the most creative player on the pitch from a distance and he proved that with a left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area.
Shortly thereafter, Doc became the central figure in an incident that was supposed to give the City a human advantage.
Michael Keane wiped out the Belgian by threatening to dart clear, but Michael Oliver only received a yellow card.
Everton’s Tierno Barry comes off the bench to score two goals
VAR director Paul Howard was also watching the situation, but it seems difficult to intervene if Oliver is in charge. Keene was very lucky to be able to stay on the field.
It would be an understatement to say that Oliver received little praise from either side of the club, but the sense of unfairness from the home supporters seemed to be adding to Everton’s sense of crisis in the second half.
And that sense of urgency was in contrast to City’s slightly more casual approach, with a loose pass from Marc Gahir allowing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to find the net, but his shot was spotted over the bar by Donnarumma.
But Guardiola was getting more and more excited. Justify it.
City lost all momentum and only Donnarumma’s strong hands stopped Iliman Ndiaye, but even with a strange touch, Everton’s equalizer was inevitable.
The assistant referee flagged Tierno Barry for offside, but Marc Guehi continued to play and rolled the ball to the Everton striker, who side-footed it.
Jeremy Doku scores a stunning last-gasp equalizer to give Man City a point.
After consulting his assistant, Oliver scored the goal, to the delight of the home support and Arsenal fans.
The jubilation was compounded when Jake O’Brien beat the City defense to put Everton ahead with less than 15 minutes remaining.
The game looked to be over when Barry scored Everton’s third goal, but Haaland reacted instantly and Doc scored the equalizer with a last-gasp right foot. It was as good as his left foot hit.
It was a great end to a great night. But Arsenal have the advantage.
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