Doku Stoppage-Time Strike Rescues City Point at Everton, Hands Arsenal Title Edge

LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) — Jeremy Doku rescued Manchester City a 3-3 draw at Everton with a stoppage-time strike on Monday, but a chaotic second-half showing has effectively passed control of the English Premier League title chase to Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta's side now require just three wins from their remaining fixtures to finally lift the trophy after 22 trophyless years in the top flight. City sit five points behind the Gunners with a match in hand, though the way they fell apart at the Hill Dickinson Stadium leaves Pep Guardiola's men with little margin for further error.

The visitors looked on course for a routine win after dominating the opening 45 minutes, with Doku finishing off a slick first-half move. The wheels came off after the interval, however, as Thierno Barry netted twice for the Toffees, sandwiching a header from Jake O'Brien.

Erling Haaland pulled one back before Doku's spectacular 97th-minute equaliser preserved a point that may yet keep City breathing in the championship race.

"It's better than losing. It shows what type of team they are," Guardiola said of his side's late rally. "It's not in our hands. Before it was, now it's not. We have games left. We will see what happens."

Arsenal's run-in takes them to relegation-threatened West Ham on Sunday, followed by a home meeting with Burnley and a closing-day trip to Crystal Palace. Two consecutive Arsenal wins since City's last league outing had cranked up the heat on Guardiola, whose first-choice players had been short of competitive minutes after heavy rotation in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Southampton a week earlier.

Far from rusty, City pinned Everton inside their own area for nearly the entire first half. The breakthrough arrived two minutes before the break when Rayan Cherki teed up Doku, whose curling effort nestled in the top corner of Jordan Pickford's net.

Everton could have been further behind by half-time, with Michael Keane escaping with only a yellow card after a reckless challenge on Doku — a piece of refereeing leniency that proved costly.

City then ignored repeated warnings that the equaliser was brewing. Gianluigi Donnarumma pushed an Iliman Ndiaye attempt back into a dangerous zone, but Merlin Rohl failed to react to the loose ball. Ndiaye also squandered a clear opening after capitalising on a Matheus Nunes mistake, only to be denied again by the towering Italian goalkeeper.

When Everton finally levelled, the goal stemmed from a self-inflicted error. Marc Guehi's weak passback gifted Barry an uncontested finish past the stranded Donnarumma. Within minutes, another sloppy moment from City led to a second concession: Abdukodir Khusanov was robbed by Ndiaye and rescued by a last-gasp Guehi tackle, but O'Brien rose unmarked to head home the resulting corner.

Barry then bundled in a third from Rohl's deflected cross as a swift counter-attack tore City apart. The response was instant — straight from the restart, Mateo Kovacic threaded Haaland through to reduce the deficit.

Doku delivered the final blow at the death, denting Everton's pursuit of European qualification, though the late drama may not be enough to keep alive City's quest for a seventh title in nine seasons.