Bedlam here, utter bedlam – particularly the finish when Jérémy Doku’s 97th-minute right-foot curler grabbed Manchester City a 3-3 draw with Everton.
Yet, the bottom line is this: the result places one Arsenal hand on the Premier League trophy, and City no longer control whether the other hand will join it.
At the evening’s start the question was simple: would City refuse to blink, do what they had to, and defeat Everton and keep relentlessly chasing the Gunners? The answer was a resounding “no” as between the 68th and 81st minutes their challenge suffered the concussive blows of goals from Thierno Barry (twice) and Jake O’Brien, which had the red part of north London jigging with glee.
At kick-off, Guardiola’s side had 70 points to Arsenal’s 76, who had played two games more. Slip up here and the Catalan’s hopes of ending his (possible) swansong season at City with a seventh championship would be cast as a dream of the pipe variety.
With matches running out even a draw would leave a clear path for Arsenal to end a 22-year wait for a 14th English title. If Mikel Arteta’s team beat West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, on the final day, City could only pass them on goal difference and after Saturday’s 3-0 hammering of Fulham, the Gunners appeared to have sweetly timed a return to form.
Yet as the arch-Napoleon of the run-in, Guardiola has endured tightrope finishes in three campaigns, each time piloting City to the crown via final-day victories.
In 2018-19, City finished with 98 points, to Liverpool’s 97, a Riyad Mahrez strike and assist sealing a 4-1 comeback triumph at Brighton. In 2021-22, Jürgen Klopp’s team were again pipped when an 81st-minute Ilkay Gündogan winner dispatched Aston Villa 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, City ending with 93 points to Liverpool’s 92. Two years later West Ham were the patsies, Phil Foden netting twice in a 3-1 win, Arteta’s side runners-up with 89 points to City’s 91.
The bid to pull off a fourth last-gasp championship triumph started here in cold May sunshine and ended in the darkness of a championship challenge left in critical condition.
For the task, Guardiola sent out his strongest XI, eight of whom last started 12 days ago – an age in the competition’s terms: the 1-0 victory at Burnley on 22 April. It meant that from the 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Southampton the Saturday before last only Matheus Nunes, Rayan Cherki and Nico González were retained. So back in came the stellar names of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva, Antoine Semenyo, Doku and Erling Haaland.
Regarding the challenge for his team, David Moyes said: “Our motivation is to do something that can help bolster our ambitions rather than damaging theirs.”
Everton did both, as in the first half “Wake up! Wake up!” might have been the Guardiola call to his men. Then, minute 42 was reached, and slick Cherki footwork set up Doku, who shimmied left and stroked past Jordan Pickford.
Before this City were sluggish and aimless and required a Guardiola flea in the ear to remind them of the stakes. There were pretty passes and angles and a few openings, but precisely when not required the visitors were tame, becalmed. Doku, Cherki and Semenyo all flitted about to zero effect – and missed chances – as Everton’s lowest of low blocks stymied and frustrated City in this 376th Premier League game of Guardiola’s trophy-laden decade at the helm.
Yet at 1-0 City were heading for the three points. Now, though, came the oddity of witnessing a hapless error from Guéhi that cast him as City’s villain, his loose back-pass for Donnarumma going to Barry, who could not miss. O’Brien’s header from a corner made it 2-1, Barry completed Everton’s scoring, then Haaland chipped home, but City could not yank this game out of the fire – for victory, anyway.
Doku’s late equaliser may – only may – prove to have salvaged a vital point in the final analysis but this feels doubtful. Instead Semenyo’s invective when spraying a volley over before the break over seems apt regarding City’s prospects. “The winger screamed as he spurned a gilded chance to take the lead, and caused his manager to turn in anguish on the touchline.
Afterwards, Doku tried defiance, saying: “It feels painful. We will keep on fighting – we owe it to ourselves and our fans.” But this is now firmly Arsenal’s title to lose. Next up for City is Brentford’s visit on Saturday. Victory will close the gap to Arsenal, who travel to West Ham on Sunday, to two points: even this may not be enough.
