Man City’s push for another league title hit a serious bump after a wild 3-3 draw with Everton, a game that felt less like a point gained and more like control slipping away. For long stretches, Man City looked exactly like a team chasing the title with purpose, but a frantic spell in the second half changed everything.
Early on, it was all going to plan for Pep Guardiola. His side were sharp in possession, calm under pressure, and dangerous going forward. Jérémy Doku’s opener was a perfect example of that control, a moment of quality that seemed to set the tone for the night. City weren’t just ahead, they looked comfortable. Then the game flipped, quickly and brutally.
Did Man City just lose control of the title race?
In the space of 13 minutes, everything unraveled. Thierno Barry found the net twice as Man City’s defence suddenly looked uncertain and reactive, while Jake O’Brien’s header piled on the pressure. It wasn’t a gradual shift, it was a complete loss of grip on the game, the kind that’s hard to explain for a team usually so precise.
43' → Everton 0-1 Manchester City
68' → Everton 1-1 Manchester City
73' → Everton 2-1 Manchester City
81' → Everton 3-1 Manchester City
83' → Everton 3-2 Manchester City
90+8' → Everton 3-3 Manchester CityMAN CITY HAVE DROPPED CRUCIAL POINTS IN THE TITLE RACE! 🤯🏆 pic.twitter.com/yQYGknuoWw
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) May 4, 2026
City did respond, and quickly. Erling Haaland pulled one back almost instantly, giving them a foothold again, and just when it looked like the chance was gone, Doku stepped up with a late equaliser. On another day, that comeback might be framed as resilience. In a title race, it just feels like something left behind.
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The bigger picture is what hurts most. City no longer decide their own fate. Arsenal now hold that advantage, knowing a perfect finish from here seals the title regardless of what happens elsewhere. That shift, from control to dependence, is massive this late in the season.
There’s already a sense of belief building around Arsenal. Thierry Henry has been careful not to get carried away but admits the situation has tilted, while Wayne Rooney has gone further, backing them to see it through. Man City, meanwhile, are left reflecting on what might have been.
Guardiola pointed to the positives after the game, especially the first-half performance and the reaction late on. But even he acknowledged the reality that the title is no longer in their hands. That’s the part that lingers more than the result itself.
There’s still time, and football rarely sticks to expectations over a run-in like this. But the margins are gone now. One more slip, one more spell like those 13 minutes, and the title could be out of reach for good.
If the season does end with City falling short, this may be the night that comes back into focus. Not because they were outclassed, but because for a brief stretch, they lost control and that was enough.
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