Right then, Andy Hunter’s report is in. That’s all from me: time to get the snooker on.
Joshua Keeling writes in:
Massive result for Arsenal. Like you said, not as good as it could have been, but if they win their games, there is nothing City can do now. If they don’t win it from here, they never will.
As does Kári Tulinius:
If the City fans in the stands had been told at the beginning of the match that they’d draw they’d have been disappointed, but that’s not how they reacted to Doku’s equalizer. The beauty of football is that every match creates its own emotional journey.
Doku’s second curler was with his right foot, I should add. He was the standout tonight.
Zach Neeley writes in: “Arsenal fan here. I’m quite happy.”
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 35 | 41 | 76 |
| 2 | Man City | 34 | 37 | 71 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 35 | 15 | 64 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 35 | 12 | 58 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 35 | 4 | 58 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 35 | 3 | 52 |
| 7 | Brentford | 35 | 6 | 51 |
| 8 | Brighton | 35 | 7 | 50 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 35 | 6 | 48 |
| 10 | Everton | 35 | 0 | 48 |
| 11 | Fulham | 35 | -5 | 48 |
| 12 | Sunderland | 35 | -9 | 47 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 35 | -2 | 45 |
| 14 | Leeds | 35 | -5 | 43 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 34 | -6 | 43 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 35 | -2 | 42 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | -9 | 37 |
| 18 | West Ham | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 19 | Burnley | 35 | -36 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 35 | -38 | 18 |
Everton lost a two-goal lead and conceded in added time once again. Manchester City need Arsenal to slip up. They’ll be pleased in north London, but it could have been even better.
Is anyone happy after that?
FULL-TIME! Everton 3-3 Manchester City
A truly ridiculous second half.
Donnarumma is up for another corner as the ball breaks for Doku by the edge of the area … and he launches another curler past Pickford! Wow!
GOAL! Everton 3-3 Manchester City (Doku 90+7)
Oh my days!
Updated
90+6 min: Donnarumma does get a head on it but Everton clear away …
90+5 min: Iroegbunam is down for Everton as Donnarumma goes up for a corner …
90+4 min: Mykolenko delivers a crucial tackle to stop Marmoush getting through on goal.
90+3 min: Everton, I must repeat, have not beaten Manchester City in nine years.
90+2 min: Röhl and Dewsbury-Hall are off for Everton, with Patterson and Alcaraz on.
90+1 min: We’ve got six extra minutes. Pickford awkwardly punches a cross before catching it. Barry is back in the right-back region to defend for Everton.
90 min: Everton have conceded late winners against Liverpool and West Ham in recent weeks. Can they hold this?
89 min: Keane gets in the way of Marmoush before Dewsbury-Hall wins a free-kick inside his half. Everton are battling away as City search for any kind of opening.
87 min: Marmoush is on for Bernardo Silva. Cherki takes the free-kick before Foden lines up a hit from outside the area … it flies wide of the top left corner.
86 min: Doku dances down the left and is too quick for O’Brien, who has to pull him down. Free-kick and a yellow.
Kovacic, on for González, slides in a wonderful, splitting pass and Haaland, bursting through the middle, is there for the expert, dinked finish.
GOAL! Everton 3-2 Manchester City (Haaland 83)
Well, this is a little ridiculous.
Updated
The impressive Röhl skips down the right, launches a hopeful shot that deflects off Khusanov, straight to Barry for the simplest of tap-ins.
GOAL! Everton 3-1 Manchester City (Barry 81)
City have had 75% of the ball in this half … but it means nothing. Because Everton have a third!
Updated
80 min: Iroegbunam slides in to win the ball in midfield. That’s a real cruncher.
78 min: City have a free-kick from shooting range … and Cherki, searching for the top right corner, sends it wide.
77 min: “It’s the stadium and Moyes doing this,” writes Gary Naylor.
75 min: Foden has replaced Semenyo … and here comes the electric Ndiaye again. He cuts in from the left but shoots straight at Donnarumma. That was another massive chance, City cut open again.
It’s an excellent ball towards the front post and O’Brien leaps higher than González to head in from close range. Forget what I said a moment ago, they’re in serious trouble.
GOAL! Everton 2-1 Manchester City (O'Brien 73)
They’re dancing in north London!
Updated
72 min: Ndiaye twists and turns inside the City area after winning the ball of Khusanov … but Guéhi slides in at the last minute to deny the Everton man a shot. The hosts have a corner.
Marc Guéhi plays a dreadful, loose backpass to Donnarumma and Barry takes over to slot in a simple finish. It’s initially ruled as offside and certainly appears so … but there’s a check: with Guéhi deliberately playing the ball Barry is back on. And City are suddenly in a bit of trouble.
Updated
GOAL! Everton 1-1 Manchester City (Barry 69)
Oh my word.
Updated
65 min: What a save. City make a mess with defending a long ball, and Ndiaye, running through the left channel, is one-on-one with Donnarumma. But the finish is poor and the Italian is too big, too good, anticipating the hit low to his left and keeping it out.
Updated
64 min: Beto is off, Barry’s on for Everton.
63 min: City knock it back and forth before Semenyo tries to burst down the right … Mykolenko manages to keep up and win a goalkick.
61 min: Donnarumma is alive at his near post to punch away a corner. Everton have found a bit of energy in the last couple of minutes.
60 min: Garner outmuscles Cherki and Everton counter … Ndiaye sends in a low shot but Donnarumma is down to his right to save.
59 min: González pulls off a neat turn in midfield to get City moving.
58 min: Khusanov and Dewsbury-Hall have a little tussle, the defender winning out.
57 min: We’re still waiting for some thrills in this half.
53 min: Tarkowski gets himself a yellow as City win a free-kick on the left – it’s worked short to Doku, who fires in a teasing cross .. that doesn’t meet anyone.
52 min: Dewsbury-Hall swings his left foot from outside the area … Donnarumma doesn’t need to act.
52 min: Semenyo seems OK to continue as play resumes.
50 min: Semenyo is getting checked out by the docs after going down.
49 min: Beto gets a yellow for needlessly taking down Guéhi.
48 min: Beto turn and shoots, but Guéhi doesn’t give him any room, there for the block. The forward was offside regardless.
46 min: And we’re back. Cherki is quick to win City a corner before Silva shoots from range … it leads to a bit of pinball inside the area.
Justin Kavanagh writes in:
Shades of Liam Brady in that educated left foot strike of Doku, except it was hit with the inside of the boot. A thing of real beauty.
As it stands:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 35 | 41 | 76 |
| 2 | Man City | 34 | 38 | 73 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 35 | 15 | 64 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 35 | 12 | 58 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 35 | 4 | 58 |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 35 | 3 | 52 |
| 7 | Brentford | 35 | 6 | 51 |
| 8 | Brighton | 35 | 7 | 50 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 35 | 6 | 48 |
| 10 | Fulham | 35 | -5 | 48 |
| 11 | Everton | 35 | -1 | 47 |
| 12 | Sunderland | 35 | -9 | 47 |
| 13 | Newcastle | 35 | -2 | 45 |
| 14 | Leeds | 35 | -5 | 43 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 34 | -6 | 43 |
| 16 | Nottm Forest | 35 | -2 | 42 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 35 | -9 | 37 |
| 18 | West Ham | 35 | -19 | 36 |
| 19 | Burnley | 35 | -36 | 20 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton | 35 | -38 | 18 |
HALF-TIME: Everton 0-1 Manchester City
City were dominating the ball but struggling to test Pickford. Then came Doku’s delicious curler.
45+1 min: It stays as a yellow for Keane.
45 min: Keane flies into Doku with a sliding challenge and the winger is in serious pain. The yellow card is out but VAR is having a look …
Cherki plays the ball to Doku, who is waiting at the edge of the area. There’s a touch to settle the ball before he gets into position, curling into the top left corner, Pickford’s dive futile.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Manchester City (Doku 43)
Everton are hassling away … but here comes Doku. That’s a gorgeous hit.
Updated
41 min: Garner cleans up at the back for Everton.
39 min: Doku plays the ball into the middle for Cherki … his first-time hit doesn’t come close to testing Pickford.
38 min: Röhl has looked lively for Everton and wins the ball in midfield, but the hosts can’t turn it into something substantial.
37 min: Nunes drives down the right and wins City a corner … Silva whips it into the mixer and Pickford slaps it away as if he’s being attacked by a bee.
34 min: Tarkowski and Khusanov square up before City venture forward … but Doku has a shot blocked as Everton form a solid wall.
32 min: City have gone quiet going forward … and here comes Röhl down the right for Everton, in space. He plays across goal, with Beto arriving for the tap-in … but Donnarumma gets a hand to deflect it. The biggest chance we’ve had so far.
31 min: Ndiaye wiggles away on the left for Everton but he doesn’t have much support as City shirts surround him.
30 min: Khusanov is down by the halfway line, caught by Beto.
28 min: Bernardo Silva dribbles through midfield before Khusanov launches a shot from a different postcode. The ball flies all the way back to Manchester.
26 min: O’Brien sends in a long throw for Everton, but O’Reilly heads away at the near post.
25 min: A poor touch by González gives Everton an opening … Dewsbury-Hall launches from range and a block wins the hosts a corner.
24 min: Beto is penalised as he looks to get on the end of a long punt from the back.
23 min: Everton continue to lose possession far too easily.
21 min: Doku jinks away on the left and delivers a lofted ball from the byline … Semenyo can’t keep his volley down as it flies high over Pickford.
19 min: Semenyo finds a galloping Nunes inside the area, in comes the cross, but Mykolenko delivers a sliding interception.
18 min: Doku wiggles away and finds O’Reilly in the area again before Cherki tests Pickford. Semenyo then plays a delicious ball across goal … but there’s no one there to apply the finishing touch. City are all over Everton.
16 min: O’Reilly ventures into the area again, pulls the ball back, but the sliding Garner is there to put off Haaland.
15 min: Semenyo shows impressive strength to keep the ball by the halfway line. O’Reilly plays a low ball into the area but not to Haaland.
13 min: Haaland picks up the ball inside the Everton area but is crowded out by blue shirts.
12 min: Bernardo Silva whips in twice towards the near post but Everton handle the threat well.
11 min: Nunes’ low ball across goal is intercepted but City have a corner …
10 min: Röhl is putting in the hard yards trying to keep up with Doku over on City’s left.
9 min: As you’d expect, City are wheeling it around, with Everton waiting to attack on the break.
Updated
7 min: Corner to City, with Cherki playing it short … he eventually launches into the area but Guéhi can’t direct his header goalwards. Cherki closes the scene with a shot over the bar from outside the area.
5 min: González slips inside his own half and Dewsbury-Hall takes over … but Everton fail to take advantage.
4 min: City take the free-kick short and fail to trouble Everton before Dewsbury-Hall and Cherki clash by the touchline.
3 min: Doku tries to skip down the wing and is brought down by Röhl. Free-kick to Manchester City.
2 min: City dominate the ball … until Ndiaye tries to drive down the left wing.
1 min: Guéhi gets a good look at the ball as City roll it around at the back. Khusanov narrowly escapes Beto’s press.
Peeeeep!
Everton get us underway at the Hill Dickinson. Let’s play!
Phil Grey writes in:
I keep on hearing that every game is a final now, but surely this isn’t even a quarter-final because there are 4 more games after this one.
Let’s call it a last-32 clash.
A reminder that Erling Haaland leads by two goals. He’s already won the golden boot twice – another would take him level with Alan Shearer and Harry Kane.
Over to another title race:
Words from Pep Guardiola but also some strong criticism of Tyler Dibling by David Moyes.
Manchester City make eight changes to the XI that started against Southampton in the FA Cup – the big-hitters are back. Matheus Nunes, Nico González and Rayan Cherki keep their places. Beto, Tim Iroegbunam and Merlin Röhl make their way into the Everton side.
The teams
Everton: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Iroegbunam, Garner, Dewsbury-Hall, Röhl, Ndiaye, Beto
Subs: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Barry, George, Dibling, Coleman, Alcaraz, Armstrong
Manchester City: Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Khusanov, Guéhi, O’Reilly, González, Silva, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku, Haaland
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Aké, Marmoush, Kovacic, Aït-Nouri, Savinho, Foden
Preamble
It’s Manchester City’s turn. They’re unbeaten in 11 consecutive league games, another treble in view for Pep Guardiola and co. They’ve not lost to Everton since January 2017, when Ademola Lookman completed a 4-0 rout at Goodison Park in Guardiola’s first season. David Moyes’ team have lost their last two, stung by injury-time winners against Liverpool and West Ham.
Yet Arsenal have responded to that defeat at the Etihad with back-to-back victories, forming a six-point lead, applying some serious scoreboard pressure. Even a draw feels fatal at the moment. Let’s see what the Hill Dickinson has for us. Kick-off’s at 8pm BST.