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City’s collapse at Everton
Manchester City’s Premier League title bid suffered a major blow after the club was held to a 3-3 draw by Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday night.
“Pep Guardiola’s side recovered to snatch a 3-3 draw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium”
The match swung after City conceded three goals in a second-half collapse, with Thierno Barry scoring a quickfire double either side of a Jake O’Brien header.
Pep Guardiola’s side had recovered to snatch the equaliser through Erling Haaland and then Jeremy Doku, who scored in the 97th minute to rescue a point.
The Independent described the result as handing Arsenal the advantage in the title race, even though City “rescued a point.”
Fairfield Sun Times similarly said Doku “salvaged a 3-3 draw for Man City at Everton,” but noted that “a second half collapse handed the destiny of the Premier League title back to Arsenal.”
The New York Times put the key sequence in a single line—Doku scored in the 43rd minute, Barry scored twice, Haaland responded immediately, and Doku struck again deep into stoppage time.
Across the reports, the final score remained Everton 3-3 Manchester City, with Arsenal retaining a five-point gap at the top after playing one more game than City.
How the game turned
Multiple outlets traced the turnaround to a run of defensive errors and specific moments that flipped a City lead into a 3-1 Everton advantage.
The Independent said the turning point was “an awful error from a player who had been almost impeccable in his City career,” pointing to “a horribly under-hit back-pass by Marc Guehi.”
It added that Everton’s substitute Thierno Barry “scored a quickfire double either side of a Jake O’Brien header,” and described how City’s late comeback began with Haaland pulling one goal back before Doku equalised in the 97th minute.
The New York Times likewise described “a dreadful Marc Guehi error” that allowed Thierno Barry to equalise, then said Barry scored his second in the 81st minute before Haaland responded immediately to halve the deficit.
The Guardian framed the same arc as City being “a goal down by half-time” and then leading 3-1 in the 81st minute, before Haaland reduced the deficit “straight from the restart” and Doku produced a late rescue “with virtually the last kick of the game.”
ESPN’s match narrative also highlighted the same Guehi-to-Barry sequence, stating that “Marc Guéhi’s loose pass back to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was intercepted by Everton substitute Thierno Barry.”
In the French-language L’Équipe report, the second half was described as “wild,” with Donnarumma “collapsed” as Barry’s brace (68', 81') and O’Brien’s goal (73') put Everton ahead.
Voices after the draw
After the 3-3 draw, managers and players treated the result as both a lifeline and a loss of control, with quotes repeatedly returning to the idea that the title race was no longer “in our hands.”
“the title is “still there””
Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports, “Really good performance. We played an outstanding first half,” and then said, “Second half, they made a step up. We didn't have as much control and we gave away the goal.”
He also insisted on persistence, saying, “We take the point and until it's over, we're going to continue.”
The Independent reported that Guardiola accepted City’s fate is no longer “in our hands,” while Haaland was heard telling his team-mates the title is “still there.”
David Moyes, speaking to Sky Sports, said, “We let ourselves down because we defended the second goal so poorly. That was probably the main reason for it,” and added, “Getting a point against City is not a bad result, but when you're 3-1 up you think you're in with a great chance of winning.”
Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports made the title implication explicit, saying, “If Arsenal beat West Ham on Sunday, they win the league.”
Thierry Henry warned that West Ham could create another dramatic twist, telling Monday Night Football, “Now it's back in Arsenal's hands. It's not in Man City's hands anymore,” and urging, “There's no maybe. Win your games. Don't look at City. It's in your hands.”
Jeremy Doku’s own reaction, as relayed by the London Evening Standard, captured the emotional cost: “It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points today. We will keep on fighting - we owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
Different takes on the same match
While all the reports agreed on the 3-3 scoreline and the late Doku equaliser, they diverged in how they framed the match’s meaning for the title race and the balance of play.
The Independent emphasized the title-race mathematics, writing that Arsenal would be champions with “three more wins,” and it described City’s collapse as “extraordinary” while still noting a “late fightback that rescued a point.”
Fairfield Sun Times also focused on the title race, saying Arsenal “now just need to win their final three games to end a 22-year wait,” and it described City as “five points adrift” with a “game in hand.”
The Guardian, by contrast, centered the psychological theme of control, quoting Guardiola’s “Not in our hands” framing and writing that the title destiny was “out of their hands,” while also stating Arsenal would win the league for the first time since 2004 if they took maximum points from their final three games.
ESPN’s framing leaned into statistical and tactical context, noting “Opta gives Arsenal an 85.2% chance of ending their 22-year title drought this term,” and describing City’s collapse as “three goals in the space of 13 chaotic second-half minutes.”
The New York Times, meanwhile, treated the match as a “huge boost” to Arsenal’s hopes and said the point “leaves Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League having played one more game than City,” while also placing Everton into 10th.
L’Équipe described the match as a moment that “could still prove to be a major moment in the Premier League season,” and it highlighted that City had not lost since January 17 in the league before Monday’s draw.
Even the Spanish report, while recounting the same scorers and timing, framed the turning point as emotional and control-related—City “perdió el control emocional del partido” and Everton turned it around in “apenas 13 minutos.”
What happens next
The immediate consequences of the Everton draw were laid out as a tight run-in for both clubs, with Arsenal’s next league match at West Ham and City’s next at Brentford, plus additional fixtures mentioned for the wider season.
“If Arsenal beat West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, they will win the title”
Sky Sports said Arsenal travel to the London Stadium on Sunday and that the match is “live on Sky Sports from 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm Monday 4 May 2026 23:08, UK,” while it also stated that Arsenal “need to win all three of those matches to secure their first Premier League title in 22 years.”
The Independent said Haaland would face Brentford on Saturday and that Arsenal would visit relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday, with Burnley and Crystal Palace also listed as opponents in the run-in.
Fairfield Sun Times similarly listed Arsenal’s remaining league opponents as West Ham on Sunday, then hosting Burnley and visiting Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign.
The Guardian added that City “have Brentford on Saturday and we continue and we’ll see what happens,” and it described the title scenario as Arsenal needing maximum points from their final three games.
The New York Times looked beyond the league, saying Everton’s next fixture was “a trip to face Crystal Palace on Sunday, three days after their hosts will have played in the second leg of their Conference League semi-final,” and it said City host Brentford on Saturday afternoon.
L’Équipe also stressed that City’s title hopes were “no longer in their hands,” even though it noted City still had “four matches left to hope.”
Guardiola’s own post-match message, repeated across outlets, was that they would keep going game by game, with Sky Sports quoting, “We have games left. We will see what happens.”
