Manchester City lost ground in the Premier League title race on Monday evening as they played out a crazy 3-3 draw with Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Pep Guardiola‘s men were well on top in the first-half but couldn’t force a way through – at least until Jeremy Doku continued his fine recent form with a blazing finish into Jordan Pickford‘s top corner.
But horrendous second-half errors allowed Thierno Barry and Jake O’Brien to turn the game around, with Barry adding a third. Erling Haaland responded immediately though – and Doku hit a last-minute screamer to tie up a bonkers encounter.
The unfamiliar Hill Dickinson surface was an early problem for City and caused a number of slippages in the opening 10 minutes but that was one of few things which seemed capable of knocking the Blues out of their stride as they penned their hosts in.
Rodri absent from Manchester City matchday squad for Everton clash
That dominance didn’t translate to too many clear openings initially but City began ramping things up, with Nico O’Reilly drawing a block from James Tarkowski; then Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo going close with quick-fire efforts.
The majority of the Blues’ play was coming down the left and Doku in particular was a menace to Everton; the Belgian jinked past O’Brien and picked out fellow winger Semenyo, but he couldn’t keep his volley down.
Everton found a foothold after half an hour and should have taken the lead with their first opening, Merlin Rohl being freed on the right wing and seeing Gianluigi Donnarumma just about prevent Beto from reaching his cross, before Iliman Ndiaye‘s follow-up blasted into the chest of Abdukodir Khusanov.
Doku remained City’s most likely source of an opening goal and shortly after Cherki had shot over from one of the winger’s deliveries, the Frenchman turned provider and laid off for the 23-year-old to take a step inside and lash a fantastic finish off his weaker left foot into the top corner.
City weren’t quite in the same stride to start the second-half and needed Donnarumma again when Ndiaye led a one-man breakaway and used Beto‘s run as a decoy for his own shot, which the Italian goalkeeper got down to quickly.
And the pair locked horns again just after the hour as Matheus Nunes and Khusanov couldn’t work out a bouncing ball between them, allowing Ndiaye to break free on goal; this is Donnarumma’s element though – and City’s number one spread himself heroically to protect his team’s one-goal lead.
There was nothing the 27-year-old could do mere minutes later though – Marc Guehi made an atrocious error in trying to play the ball back to his keeper, gifting the ball to substitute Barry to score Everton’s equaliser.
City’s heads appeared to be scrambled and this time, it was the other centre-back who erred as Khusanov took far too much time on the ball, with Guehi needed to jump in with a last-ditch tackle – but that merely delayed the disaster as O’Brien headed in from the resulting corner to compound the Blues’ collapse.
And the implosion was added to as the Toffees raced clear again, Rohl easily going past substitute Mateo Kovacic and seeing his dragged effort fall perfectly for Barry to bag his brace and put City in even deeper trouble.
The crazy conclusion to the game continued immediately though; Kovacic was quickly back on the ball and played an incredible through pass for Haaland, who delightfully lifted over Pickford to reduce the rears back to one.
And the comeback was completed, at least in part, with the last kick of the game as Doku produced another unbelievable curled finish beyond Pickford for 3-3.
But it is out of City’s hands now so barring a remarkable collapse from Arsenal in this title race, the Blues may have seen their Premier League hopes go up in smoke at the Hill Dickinson Stadium tonight.
Here’s how we rated the players in Manchester City’s enthralling draw with Everton in Merseyside:
Starting XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma –6
Pushed away Rohl’s cross and to saved twice from Ndiaye but was left stranded for Barry’s equaliser. Too weak in his attempted punch for O’Brien’s goal.
Matheus Nunes –5.5
He’s a player who has struggled with the turf giving way from under him in the past, so he was always likely to be among the victims on an unpredictable pitch here. It did lead to some shaky moments, primarily as he allowed Ndiaye in for a one-on-one, but much of his other work throughout the game was strong.
Abdukodir Khusanov – 4.5
Perhaps could have kept his cool a little better in what was a hotly-contested evening for the Uzbek. Won some battles but his careless concession led to the corner from which Everton scored their second.
Marc Guehi – 4
Had been looking sharp and in control of things before a total howler to hand Everton their equaliser. Brought the ball out calmly otherwise but that moment was simply a catastrophe.
Nico O’Reilly –5.5
Was a catalyst in City’s first-half dominance, progressing the play and linking up with Doku. Didn’t cope as well with Everton’s second-half resurgence, with the Toffees’ third coming down his side.
Nico Gonzalez –5.5
Another who suffered from the nature of the playing surface, although he did well when in control of the ball. Showed he still has a lot to learn though as he toiled at times with Everton’s transitions.
Bernardo Silva –5
Was a good controlling presence in City’s dominant spells. Covered a lot of ground but it was a bridge too far for him to get back in and prevent the hosts’ goals.
Rayan Cherki – 6
Floated around dangerously but couldn’t quite manage to force anything for the most part. Intelligently set up Doku but that was as good as it got for the playmaker.
Antoine Semenyo –5.5
Didn’t see as much traffic down his side as Doku, but was a threat when the ball was switched his way. Shot waywardly in his half-chance openings.
Erling Haaland –7
Dropped in for some touches of the ball more frequently than we’re used to, linking play fairly well. Struggled to impact things in the final third until his neat finish.
Jeremy Doku – 8.5 (POTM)
The main threat for City throughout with his impish dribbling, carving out chance after chance. His influence waned a little in the second period but he rescued a point for his side with two wonder-goals.
Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic – 5
Played a glorious through-ball for Haaland’s goal, but had already done the damage in easily allowing Rohl to evade him and set up Barry’s second.
Phil Foden –5.5
Sprayed a few passes around and had one threatening shot.
Omar Marmoush – N/A
