The Night Man City Lost…

LIVERPOOL, England — After a prolonged debate about whether the Premier League trophy would head to London or Manchester, it appears the outcome may hinge on events in Merseyside.

For several weeks, Manchester City seemed poised to claim the title. However, the momentum has shifted dramatically towards Arsenal, following an exhilarating 3-3 draw between City and Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday. City initially looked set to win but ended up conceding a late equalizer thanks to a stunning strike by Jérémy Doku, which could play a crucial role in the title race.

Arsenal’s dominant win over Fulham last weekend left City with no margin for error, as they entered the first of two games in hand. Doku’s brilliant opener right before halftime had given Guardiola’s squad an opportunity to close the gap to three points.

However, a disastrous second half has left City trailing in the title race, now with an outside shot at winning for the seventh time in nine seasons. Opta has given Arsenal an 85.2% chance of finally breaking their 22-year title drought this season.

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A few weeks prior, a Manchester City supporter gained attention for waving an Arsenal-branded bottle in the away section during his team’s match against Chelsea, mocking the Gunners for “bottling” previous title challenges. However, against Everton, City demonstrated they too are vulnerable to the pressures of a title race. They conceded three goals in a chaotic 13-minute stretch during the second half, a sequence that may ultimately define their season.

City’s troubles began with a careless pass from center-back Marc Guéhi, which was intercepted by Everton’s Thierno Barry. Barry’s goal was confirmed after a VAR review. Despite only a handful of errors leading to goals in their previous 31 matches, this marked City’s second significant mistake in three games.

Defender Jake O’Brien compounded their woes with a header from a corner taken by James Garner, which put Everton ahead. Soon after, Merlin Röhl assisted Barry for Everton’s third goal, leading to visible despair from Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki as the Everton players celebrated.

This season marked only the second time City conceded three goals in a half, and they have now dropped the most points from winning positions in the Premier League since January, alongside Tottenham and Newcastle (12 points).

Despite Haaland’s subsequent goal, reducing the deficit with a deft finish over Jordan Pickford, and Doku’s late heroics, City has a flicker of hope ahead of their Saturday face-off against Brentford. A victory could bring them to within two points of Arsenal, who face relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday.

From Everton’s standpoint, Doku’s late goal marks the third injury-time goal conceded in three matches, following defeats to Liverpool and West Ham. Under David Moyes, their lack of substitutions and use of players may be proving detrimental as they seek European qualification.

Man City, despite extending their unbeaten streak to 12 league matches and accumulating more points than any other team during that run, will feel most let down by the outcome on Monday. Guardiola’s side has often shown resilience in title races, but a misjudged effort from substitute Phil Foden emphasized that this is not the invincible City of the past.

“We played outstanding in the first half,” Guardiola expressed to Sky Sports after the match. “Really, really good. In the second half, Everton stepped up and we may not have been as aggressive, and of course, we conceded the goal… We’ll take the point and keep pushing until the end.”

“It’s not in our hands now. It was once, but it’s not anymore. We’ll see how the remaining games unfold.”

With a crucial Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid looming on Tuesday, Arsenal has the potential to turn this season into one for the history books. Meanwhile, City must remain vigilant and ready to pounce on any misstep by the Gunners.

Clearly, if Monday’s thrilling conclusion is any indication, this season’s title race could continue to be intense right up to the final whistle.