- Doku salvaged a vital point in injury time of Man City’s 3-3 draw vs Everton on Monday night
- Belgium international opened the scoring before Toffees scored thrice in succession in second-half
- Winger says draw ‘feels painful’ but that Man City owe to to themselves and fans to keep fighting
Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku has sent a rallying call to his teammates after they earned a hard-fought point late on against Everton on Monday night.
Doku starred for the domestic treble hopefuls by netting a sumptuous brace on Manchester City‘s debut trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, though Pep Guardiola‘s men have lost some crucial ground in the Premier League title race.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring for City in the first-half but the visitors capitulated after the interval and went 3-1 down with seven minutes of normal time left.
Match Report and Player Ratings: Everton 3-3 Manchester City (Premier League)
Erling Haaland pulled one back after a sublime through ball from substitute Mateo Kovacic before Doku curled in a beautiful effort into the far corner past Jordan Pickford from outside the box to salvage a monumental point for Manchester City.
Everton draw feels painful, we gave them the game – Doku
In an honest post-match conversation with Manchester City’s official channels, Doku admitted that his side threw the game away as they once again dropped points from a leading position.
“I think we gave Everton the game. Good that we came back because one point isn’t bad in games like this,” the winger said after full-time in Merseyside.
“It feels painful now. Still a lot of games to go. We lost two points today but we know one point can be important at the end. We’ll keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and our fans.”
Doku was Manchester City’s best player on the night by some distance as he wreathed havoc in the Toffees backline from start to finish and left the Hill Dickinson Stadium with two brilliant goals to his name to keep his side in the title race.
What does the draw mean for Man City’s title chances?
Guardiola’s men kicked off on Monday night six points adrift of Arsenal after the Gunners won home games over Newcastle United and Fulham in the last week to establish a healthy lead at the summit.
Rodri absent from Manchester City matchday squad for Everton clash
Doku’s 90+7′ minute equaliser means City remain five points behind the Gunners with a game in hand, giving the north Londoners renewed hope of a first Premier League title in 22 years.
Arsenal will be looking to capitalise on City’s slip-up on the road with a perfect run-in record but stranger things happen every day – as it remains to be seen whether any of Burnley, West Ham or Crystal Palace can hand Guardiola and co a favour in the final weeks of the season.
City face Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Aston Villa in their final four league games and will also turn their attention to the FA Cup final against Chelsea in the midst of a massively important May.
