Pep: Premier League Title…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola commended his team’s resolve after they fought back to secure a thrilling 3-3 draw against Everton, but he acknowledges the challenging path ahead in the Premier League title race.

Currently, City trails Arsenal by five points but has a game in hand.

“It depends. [The title] is no longer in our hands. Before that game, it was in our hands as well as Arsenal’s. But now, it’s out of our control,” Guardiola stated.

City’s next match will be against Brentford, who currently sit in seventh place and are vying for European competition next season, at home on Saturday, while Arsenal heads to West Ham.

“We have four games left in the Premier League, the next being against Brentford, and it will likely be a similar challenge since the competitors are strong, but we’ll see what unfolds,” Guardiola noted. “Certainly, we approach these matches with confidence, just as we did here.”

City appeared to have the upper hand at halftime, leading 1-0 due to a goal by Jeremy Doku in the 43rd minute.

However, Everton responded with three goals in just 14 minutes, starting with Thierno Barry’s goal in the 68th minute. Jake O’Brien then scored a header in the 73rd minute to break the tie, followed by Barry netting his second in the 81st minute. Barry’s first goal came after a disastrous back pass from City defender Marc Guehi.

Erling Haaland reduced the deficit to 3-2 in the 83rd minute, and Doku scored a stunning equalizer in stoppage time to secure a point for his team.

“We had a really strong performance. The first half was outstanding, though their physicality made the second half more challenging for us,” Guardiola commented on Sky Sports. “In the second half, we may not have been as dominant. After conceding, I sensed a shift in momentum, and they turned it into a classic English match, aggressive in their duels. Overall, though, our performance was commendable.”

Guardiola added, “While it’s certainly better than a loss, winning is even more desirable, and that’s what we aimed for. This match exemplified the team’s character.”

In contrast, Everton’s manager David Moyes noted at halftime that his players had lapses in their defensive play, particularly regarding Haaland’s goal.

“But at halftime, we would have accepted this outcome as we were significantly outperformed in the first half,” Moyes remarked. “I wanted our players to engage more physically and closer to Manchester City, which proved difficult. They played exceptionally well as well.”

“However, our performance was below par. It was perhaps the weakest effort we’ve exhibited all season against the stronger teams.”

“The players rallied to get us back into the game, and once we reached 3-1, we should have been able to secure the win, but we couldn’t manage to do so.”

“Securing a point against City isn’t a bad result, but being 3-1 up, we felt a strong chance of clinching a win.”

This report includes information from PA.