Doku stoppage-time strike rescues City draw, lifts Arsenal title hopes

LIVERPOOL, England (AP): A dramatic stoppage-time finish from Jérémy Doku salvaged a 3-3 draw for Manchester City at Everton on Sunday, halting the champions' charge and tilting the Premier League title race firmly toward Arsenal.

The result snapped City's run of three straight victories and left Pep Guardiola's men trailing the Gunners by five points. Although City still hold a match in hand, the dropped points at Hill Dickinson Stadium effectively put the trophy in Arsenal's grasp, with Mikel Arteta's side having three fixtures remaining.

"It's painful now," Doku said. "There's a lot of games to go., Eeverything can happen. We lost two points today, but we will keep on fighting.

"We know that one point can still be important in the end."

With four matches left, City needed a win to maintain the chase. They controlled possession through the opening half but found genuine openings hard to come by until the 42nd minute, when Doku wriggled into pocket of space inside a packed area and curled a fine effort into the net to break the stalemate.

Everton emerged transformed after the interval, scoring three times within a 13-minute spell. The collapse began when Marc Guéhi's underhit back pass was pounced on by substitute Thierno Barry, who slid the ball beyond a stunned Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Five minutes later, the visiting defence was again caught out as Jake O'Brien climbed at the near post to flick in a James Garner corner. Barry then made it 3-1 in the 81st minute, tapping home after a deflected shot dropped invitingly into his path.

As disheartened City supporters began heading for the exits, Erling Haaland surged forward to lift his 25th goal of the campaign over Jordan Pickford. City poured forward in search of a leveller, and in the seventh minute of added time Doku produced an exquisite curling finish with virtually the last touch of the match.

The blow was a cruel one for Everton, whose European ambitions remain alive. Victory would have moved them to within two points of seventh, but instead they sit 10th, level on points with Fulham and Chelsea.

"We let ourselves down., Wwe defended the second goal so poorly, and that was the main reason (for the draw)," Everton manager David Moyes said.

"But at halftime, we'd have taken this result because we were hugely outplayed in the first half. Getting a point against Manchester City's not a bad result, but when you're 3-1 up, you're thinking you're in with a great chance of winning."

FOREST BEAT CHELSEA

Earlier in the day, Chelsea suffered a sixth consecutive Premier League loss and watched their Champions League qualification ambitions all but evaporate following a 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

Taiwo Awoniyi netted twice on either side of winning a penalty that strike partner Igor Jesus dispatched, propelling a heavily rotated Forest side to the verge of survival. Forest sat six points clear of the drop zone with three rounds remaining.

Joao Pedro's overhead kick deep into second-half stoppage time finally broke a scoring drought in the league that had stretched almost two months for Chelsea, but it was no more than a consolation.

On a chastening afternoon for the Londoners and interim coach Calum McFarlane, Cole Palmer had a spot-kick saved during a 14-minute period of first-half stoppage time. The lengthy delay followed treatment for 18-year-old Chelsea winger Jesse Derry, making his first Premier League start, after he clashed heads with Forest's Zach Abbott at a corner.

Both players had to be withdrawn, with Derry leaving on a stretcher as Stamford Bridge fell silent and team-mates looked anxious.

Last week's run to the FA Cup final has done little to lift Chelsea, who were jeered by their own supporters at the interval and at full time. The wretched league form has dropped them to ninth and ended any prospect of a top-five finish.

Sixth place could yet open a Champions League route, but only if Aston Villa hold their fifth position and lift the Europa League. Chelsea are four points behind Bournemouth in sixth.

Villa trail Forest 1-0 from the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, with the return tie at Villa Park on Thursday. That fixture led Forest boss Vitor Pereira to name what was effectively a reserve eleven, yet they still proved too strong for Chelsea.

In-form creator Morgan Gibbs-White was among Forest's regulars on the bench. He entered the action, teed up Awoniyi for the third goal in the 52nd minute, and was later forced off with a bandage around his head after colliding with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was also substituted.

Yesterday's Results

Chelsea 1-3 Forest

Everton 3-3 Man City