Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City will still fight Arsenal for the Premier League gold, even after losing points to Everton. At the same time, he admits that the title is no longer in his own hands.
Manchester City were hoping to reduce Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to three points when they visited Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night.
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Guardiola’s side opened the title race wide when they beat Arsenal last month, but the Gunners responded immediately with wins over Newcastle United and Fulham.
Six points behind Arsenal – but with two games less played – the title was still City’s to lose. However, it required an away win against Everton.
Drama on Merseyside
City led at half-time after a brilliant goal from Jeremy Doku. Then Everton completely turned the game around. Two goals from Thierno Barry and a header from Jake O’Brien sent the hosts into a 3-1 lead.
But Manchester City didn’t give up. Erling Braut Haaland and Doku scored two late goals and saved a point in a crazy game.
The 3-3 result means that Arsenal now lead the Premier League by five points. Only three games remain for Mikel Arteta’s men: West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
“No longer in our hands”
After the game, Guardiola assessed the situation:
“We will take the point, and until it is over, we will continue to fight,” Guardiola said.
“It’s better than a loss. We played to win. This just shows what the team is made of. We tried, and we succeeded. But it’s not in our hands anymore. Before the game, it was. Now it’s not.
“We have to do the job in the four games we have left in the Premier League. It will be quite similar against Brentford. We’ll see what happens.
“Everton at home is always difficult”
Guardiola also spoke more generally about the match:
“Away to Everton is always difficult. I give them great credit for their calmness and aggression.
“In the second half, they took a step up. We didn’t have as much control and gave away an unnecessary goal. After that, they came back and created a real English game – so aggressive in the duels.
Doku: “We owe ourselves and the fans”
The match hero Doku was disappointed after the end of the match:
“It feels bad right now. But there are still many games left.
“We lost two points today. We will continue to fight – we owe it to ourselves and our fans.
Manchester City will try to keep their dwindling golden hopes alive on Saturday, when in-form Brentford come to the Etihad Stadium.
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