Arsenal Title Boost as Everton Shocks Manchester City in 3-3 Draw
Manchester City walked into Goodison chasing control of the title race. They walked out with a 3-3 draw, a damaged aura, and Arsenal back in the driving seat.
On a wild Monday night, Everton – written off by most before a ball was kicked – came from behind to lead 3-1 with nine minutes of normal time left, only for City to claw back a point in stoppage time. It felt less like a rescue act and more like a warning sign for the champions.
Doku lights the fuse
For 43 minutes, City prodded and probed without conviction. Then Jeremy Doku decided he’d had enough.
The winger had already slalomed around the Everton box once, only to lose his footing at the crucial moment. The ball was recycled, the move rebuilt, and when it came back to him on the edge of the area, he didn’t hesitate. One touch to set, one to whip. Low, precise, ruthless. City were ahead and, on paper, in control.
They didn’t play like it.
The lead bred comfort, not authority. Passes slowed, pressure eased, and Everton, who had been hanging on, began to sense there was something in this after all.
Barry pounces amid chaos
The equaliser arrived in the 68th minute, born out of confusion and punished with cold clarity.
Everton had the ball, but it was Marc Guehi who suddenly found it at his feet, with Thierno Barry loitering nearby in an offside position. Guehi turned towards his own goal, looking to roll it back to Gianluigi Donnarumma. He never got the chance.
Barry read the hesitation, sprang forward, nicked the ball and finished from close range. The flag went up. The stadium groaned. On first look, it seemed straightforward: Barry had been offside.
Then came the twist.
Once Guehi had taken control, Barry was no longer judged to be interfering with the original phase of play. The defender’s possession reset the picture. After a rapid review, the goal stood. Goodison erupted, and City, for the first time, looked rattled.
The incident did more than level the score. It flipped the mood. Everton smelled vulnerability and went after it.
From 1-0 up to 3-1 down
City’s composure drained away, and Everton surged.
From a corner in the 73rd minute, Jake O'Brien rose and buried his header, thundering the hosts into a 2-1 lead. Set-piece, simple delivery, brutal execution. City’s marking evaporated, and O'Brien punished them.
The champions staggered. Everton swung again.
Eight minutes later, Barry struck for the second time. A loose challenge from substitute Mateo Kovacic in midfield opened the door. He missed his tackle, Everton broke, and City’s defensive shape dissolved. Barry arrived, composed and clinical, to roll in his second and push Everton into a scarcely believable 3-1 lead.
Goodison shook. City, chasing a fourth straight title, were being out-fought and out-thought.
Haaland flickers, Doku rescues
Pride kicked in.
Straight from kickoff, City hit back. Erling Haaland, anonymous for most of the night, suddenly came to life. Before his goal he had managed just two touches in the box and a single shot, another subdued entry in a season that has never quite caught fire for him.
This time, though, he combined sharply with Kovacic, burst through and finished. Clinical, almost out of nowhere. 3-2, and a sliver of belief restored.
Everton dropped deeper, the clock ticked, and City threw everyone forward. Donnarumma came up for a late corner, a final heave into a crowded box. The ball was only half-cleared, bobbling out towards a familiar figure on the edge of the area.
Doku again.
Same patch of grass, same calm. He steadied himself and lashed in a second superb strike with what was essentially the last meaningful kick of the game. City had their point. Whether it felt like one was another matter.
Arsenal back on top
When the noise died down, the table told the real story.
Arsenal, who had ceded control of the title race in recent weeks, now hold it again. They sit five points clear on 76 from 35 games, with a goal difference of +41. City trail on 71 from 34, their goal difference at +37 and their margin for error almost gone.
Arsenal’s run-in keeps them on the road: West Ham United away on May 10, Burnley away on May 18, Crystal Palace away on May 24. Three away days, three hurdles, but crucially, the advantage is theirs.
City still have a game in hand, still have the pedigree, still have the habit of finishing seasons with a ruthless streak. But nights like this strip away inevitability. They show a team that can be opened up, a striker searching for rhythm, a champion forced into late chaos just to avoid defeat.
The title is still there for them. The question now is whether this was just a stumble, or the night the race truly slipped from their grasp.
