Pep Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City will continue to battle Arsenal for the Premier League title following a dramatic 3-3 draw at Everton, though he conceded that the destiny of the championship is no longer within his team's control.
Title race blown open
Manchester City arrived at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night hoping to reduce Arsenal's lead at the top of the table to just three points. Guardiola's side had thrown the title race wide open by defeating Arsenal last month, but the Gunners responded with victories over Newcastle United and Fulham. Trailing Arsenal by six points but holding two games in hand, the title was effectively in Manchester City's hands—but that required an away win at Everton.
Match summary
City took the lead through a brilliant strike from Jeremy Doku on the stroke of half-time. However, Everton mounted a stunning second-half comeback, going 3-1 up thanks to a brace from Thierno Barry and a header from Jake O'Brien. Manchester City then produced a remarkable fightback of their own, scoring two late goals through Erling Haaland and Doku to salvage a point.
The 3-3 draw means Arsenal now hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with just three games remaining—against West Ham, Burnley, and Crystal Palace.
Guardiola's reaction
Assessing the title race after the draw, Guardiola said: 'We take the point and until it's over, we're going to continue. It's better than a loss. We played to win. It just shows what the team are. We tried and we have done it. It's not in our hands. Before it was in our hands. Now, no.'
He added: 'We have to do it in our four games that we have in the Premier League. It will be quite similar against Brentford. We will see what happens.'
Discussing the match itself, Guardiola said: 'Everton away is always difficult and I give credit to them for their composure and aggression. Second half, they made a step up. We didn't have as much control and we gave away the goal. After that they come back and make a proper English game, so aggressive in the duels. But in general we made a really good performance. It's not easy because they play so well defensively, with 10 players there and the fast transitions.'
Doku's view
Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku added: 'It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points today. We will keep on fighting – we owe it to ourselves and to our fans.'
Manchester City will look to boost their fading title hopes on Saturday when they welcome in-form Brentford to the Etihad Stadium.
