Pep Guardiola delivered a candid admission about Manchester City’s Premier League title prospects after his side surrendered a lead to draw 3-3 with Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on May 4, 2026.
The City manager was unambiguous in his post-match assessment. “It’s not in our hands. Before it was in our hands. Now, no,” Guardiola stated, acknowledging that the dropped points had effectively transferred control of the title race to Arsenal.
The result leaves Manchester City five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, though they do hold a game in hand. More critically, the draw means Arsenal can now secure their first top-flight title since the iconic 2003/04 unbeaten Premier League season — widely known as the Invincibles campaign — by simply winning their three remaining league fixtures.
For much of the contest, there was little indication of what was to come. Guardiola described his side’s opening 45 minutes as “outstanding”, and City took a deserved lead through Jérémy Doku’s 43rd-minute strike heading into the interval.
The second half, however, told an entirely different story. Guardiola attributed the turnaround to Everton raising their intensity, noting that the hosts “made a step up” and transformed the match into a “proper English game” — one defined by physical duels and directness that disrupted City’s rhythm and structure.
Everton’s comeback was both swift and ruthless. Thierno Barry opened the scoring for the Toffees in the 68th minute before Jake O’Brien added a header in the 73rd. Barry then completed his brace in the 81st minute, giving Everton a 3-1 lead inside a devastating 13-minute spell that left City reeling.
Manchester City did mount a response. Erling Haaland pulled one back in the 83rd minute directly from the restart, and Doku capped a remarkable individual performance with a curling 97th-minute equaliser to rescue a point. But the salvage job, while showing character, was insufficient to prevent the damage to City’s title challenge.
The draw is particularly painful for City given the context of the run-in. Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta, now control their own destiny entirely. Should the Gunners take maximum points from their remaining three league games, the title will return to north London for the first time in over two decades — ending what has been a prolonged period of dominance from Manchester City, who have won six of the last seven Premier League titles.
For Everton, the result will be viewed as a notable scalp during what has been a turbulent period for the club. David Moyes’ side, according to reports, were frustrated by their own inability to hold on after leading 3-1, with the Toffees also blowing a two-goal advantage in what proved to be a chaotic finale at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
