Pep Guardiola has vowed that his Manchester City side will not relent in the Premier League title race against Arsenal, following a dramatic 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday night that saw them drop two crucial points. The result leaves City five points behind the league leaders, though they still hold a game in hand.
Match Overview
Jeremy Doku gave City a first-half lead, but Everton responded emphatically with three goals in just 14 minutes. Substitute Thierno Barry scored a brace, either side of a Jake O'Brien header, as the hosts capitalised on uncharacteristic errors from the visitors. However, after Erling Haaland quickly pulled one back, Doku curled in a stunning strike with virtually the last kick of the game to salvage a point for City.
Guardiola's Reaction
Speaking after the match, Guardiola said: "We need to win our games. Now it is not in our hands. If they win their games the title will be for Arsenal. Now we have to win our next game, we have to recover well for a series of games, and this is what we have to do."
City's eight-match winning run away to Everton came to an end at a terrible time, but Doku's late intervention could prove pivotal. A defeat would have felt terminal in the title race, but a point means Arsenal must win their remaining three fixtures to be certain of being crowned champions if City can take maximum points from their own games.
"It's better the point than no point, but it would be better to win the game that we needed," Guardiola added. "I know it was in our hands and in Arsenal's hands as well, it depended on goal difference. Now it's not, but we have a responsibility. We play Brentford on Saturday and we continue and we will see what happens."
He emphasised the team's commitment: "Better effort cannot be possible. The message is the same as the day before. We have four games left and a final – win the games. That is the message. We play for that, even with difficulties for many reasons."
Impact on Everton
While the focus was inevitably on the points dropped by City, this draw could be hugely damaging to Everton as well, leaving them four points adrift of sixth-placed Bournemouth rather than two. Manager David Moyes said: "It will be tough for us to make Europe I think at the moment. Three points tonight might have made me start feeling a bit healthier about it. Getting one keeps me still dreaming there's a chance, but I've talked too much about it all season so I'm fed up talking about it now."
It was the third consecutive game in which Everton have conceded a result-changing goal in stoppage time, after back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and West Ham. Moyes added: "That was disappointing, but it was a brilliant finish by Doku, you have to give him credit for that. It was a much better performance in the second half. It was probably the worst we have played in the first half against any of the top teams, but that could easily have been down to the quality and the levels of Manchester City."
