Everton vs Man City: Title back in Arsenal's hands after Pep's side slip up

Manchester City have slipped up in the title race, drawing against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium to hand title advantage to Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola’s side arrived on Merseyside sitting six points behind league leaders Arsenal with two games in hand, desperately needing a win to keep their title destiny entirely in their own control. 

Instead, a disastrous second-half collapse, punished by a brilliant Thierno Barry brace and a Jake O'Brien goal, forced Jérémy Doku to rescue a 90th-minute point that may ultimately hand the Premier League crown to Mikel Arteta’s Gunners.

The match began with Manchester City predictably dominating possession, though Everton were perfectly organised, relying on a compact defensive block and rapid transitions.

Just as the first half looked destined to end scoreless, Manchester City found their breakthrough. Rayan Cherki laid the ball off to Jérémy Doku on the edge of the area and the Belgian winger took a touch to settle himself before curling an absolutely gorgeous strike into the top left corner, leaving Jordan Pickford helpless and giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage at the interval.

The second half was a breathtaking rollercoaster of emotions, triggered by an uncharacteristic defensive implosion from the defending champions.

Everton levelled the score in bizarre fashion. City centre-back Marc Guéhi played a disastrous backpass that sent Thierno Barry clean through on goal. 

Barry side-footed the ball home, but the offside flag immediately went up. However, following a VAR review, the goal was awarded because the pass originated directly from Guéhi's mistake rather than an Everton player

The momentum swung wildly in the hosts' favour after the goals, and just five minutes later, Jake O'Brien capitalised on the ascendency, finding the back of the net to put Everton 2-1 ahead and sending the Hill Dickinson Stadium into absolute delirium.

 Manchester City looked completely shell-shocked as Everton pushed forward. Thierno Barry grabbed his second goal of the night, punishing City's exposed backline to make it 3-1 and putting the champions on the brink of a catastrophic defeat.

Refusing to surrender their title without a fight, City responded almost instantly. Erling Haaland finally escaped his markers and provided a clinical finish to halve the deficit to 3-2, setting up a frantic grandstand finish.

With time expiring, Jérémy Doku stepped up once more. The winger picked up the ball from the corner outside the area and produced a brilliant curler late in the game past the outstretched Pickford to equalise, completing his brace and sealing the 3-3 draw.

While Doku’s 90th-minute heroics spared Manchester City from an outright defeat, the 3-3 draw feels like a devastating blow to their championship aspirations.

Guardiola's men only manage to secure a single point, meaning they remain heavily disadvantaged in their title race against Arsenal. Dropping these crucial points on Merseyside means City no longer control their own destiny in the same way.