Arsenal received a huge title boost

Manchester City suffered a potentially decisive setback in the Premier League title race as they were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Everton.

City, unbeaten away to Everton since 2017 in Guardiola’s first season in charge, looked to be on course to draw level with Arsenal when Jeremy Doku gave them the lead in fine fashion in the 43rd minute.

Yet a disastrous 13-minute spell in the second half turned the game in Everton’s favour.

First Tierno Barry pounced on a terrible back-pass from Mark Guehi to level things before Jake O’Brien finished off the turnaround with a near-post header from a corner.

Barry punished a more dreadful City defense to make it 3-1, but Erling Haaland provided an immediate reply at the other end.

Still, it looked like Everton had done enough for all three points. However, after conceding 90th-minute winners against Liverpool and West Ham, Doku broke their hearts with almost the last kick of the game, curling a stunning right-footed shot beyond Jordan Pickford to at least salvage something from City’s first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

It means City are five points behind Arsenal after having played a game less and now need a similar slip-up from the Gunners in their last three games to be in a position to reclaim the title.

Manchester City suffered a huge title loss

City dominated possession for most of the first half without really testing Pickford, Antoine Semenho firing across the face of goal and wide before firing over the crossbar.

Ryan Cherky also fired over after good work down the left from Doku, who broke Everton’s resistance when he created space for himself just inside the area and curled an unstoppable effort into the top left corner.

Yet City did not carry their momentum into the second half, with Gianluigi Donnarumma forced to make two fine saves to deny Illiman Ndiaye.

Donnarumma could do nothing as Everton were given a way back into the game by Guehi who laid the ball past Barry to equalize in the 68th minute. The goal was initially disallowed as Barry was offside from a kick-off forward, but a VAR review deemed Guehi’s backside to be part of another phase of play.

Five minutes later, O’Brien completed the turnaround by heading home James Garner’s corner at the near post with Donnarumma claiming he had been obstructed.

Donnarumma had to again thwart Ndiaye, but Everton’s third goal arrived as Mateo Kovacic’s slip while a throw-in defense allowed Merlin Rolle to stroll into space on the right, his wayward shot turning into the perfect pass for Barry to tap home Everton’s third.

Haaland produced a devastating reply with a wonderful high finish from Kovacic’s cross, but City looked out of ideas in search of a third.

The inspiration, however, came from the outstanding Doku in the 97th minute. After beating Pickford with his left foot, this time he cut back to his right and found the far corner from the edge of the area to give City some comfort and slightly dampen the mood in North London.