Manchester City Title Hopes Rescued by Doku After Dramatic Draw

Manchester City walked out of Hill Dickinson Stadium like a team that had seen the trophy wobble in someone else’s hands. For 45 minutes, they were slick, aggressive and in control. For the next half-hour, they unravelled. And then, in the 97th minute, Jeremy Doku dragged them back from the brink.

It finished in a blur: a 3-3 draw with Everton that leaves Pep Guardiola’s side five points behind Arsenal with four games left. The champions are still alive. Barely.

City dominant, Doku dazzling

From the first whistle, City pinned Everton back. They pressed high, recycled possession, and turned the home side’s box into a shooting gallery. The only thing missing was a goal.

They almost paid for that wastefulness on the half-hour. A rare Everton raid ended with a low cross fizzed across the six-yard box, Beto lurking for the simplest of tap-ins. Gianluigi Donnarumma read it perfectly, springing out to cut out the danger with a crucial interception. One step slower and City would have been chasing.

Instead, they kept tightening the screw. The breakthrough finally came on 43 minutes, and it was worth the wait. Rayan Cherki slipped a simple pass inside, but what Doku did with it was anything but simple. One touch to set himself, another to whip a glorious finish into the top corner. Top spin, top corner, top class. City’s pressure had its reward, and the away end roared like a fanbase that believed the title race was back on their terms.

Collapse after the interval

Then the second half started, and City simply fell apart.

Everton came out with far more bite, and Iliman Ndiaye led the charge. Donnarumma had to bail his defence out twice, standing tall to deny the forward and preserve the lead. Those stops should have settled City. They didn’t.

Instead, panic crept in. Marc Guehi, who had spent the first half stepping forward with the ball and knitting play together, produced a moment that will haunt him. Under no real pressure, he passed straight to substitute Thierno Barry on the edge of his own area. Barry did not hesitate. One touch, one ruthless finish, and Everton were level. After a brief check, the striker was ruled onside. City’s composure was not.

The goal rattled Guardiola’s team. The stadium sensed it. Everton surged.

Everton turn the game on its head

A little over five minutes later, the home side were in front. A corner swung in, Erling Haaland mistimed his leap at the near post, and Jake O’Brien thundered a header in behind him. Donnarumma, so sharp earlier, never got close. From 1-0 up and cruising, City were 2-1 down and reeling.

David Moyes’ players could smell blood. City’s structure, usually so precise, frayed with every attack. With nine minutes of normal time left, the shock turned into something bigger.

Merlin Rohl let fly with a misdirected effort that should have been routine. Instead, it found Barry, who instinctively diverted the ball into the net. A scruffy, opportunistic finish, but it sent Hill Dickinson into delirium. Everton 3, Manchester City 1. The champions looked broken.

Haaland hits back, Doku saves the title race

City, though, still have weapons that can change a game in a heartbeat. Haaland had been wasteful, including that costly missed header at the corner, but when space finally opened up, he punished Everton.

A direct ball split the defence and Haaland burst through, shrugging off the noise, striding clear, and lifting a calm finish over Jordan Pickford. Clinical. 3-2. Suddenly, there was a pulse.

Everton dropped deeper, the clock ticked, and the title seemed to be slipping away from City with every second. Then Doku took over again.

Deep into stoppage time, with 97 minutes played, the Belgian picked up the ball on the edge of the box. This time he shifted onto his right foot, mirroring the angle of his first goal. Same arc, different boot. He curled an unstoppable strike beyond Pickford and into the far corner. A carbon-copy in spirit, if not in detail. City’s bench exploded. The away fans did too. One swing of Doku’s right foot kept their season breathing.

The whistle followed soon after. No winner, no disaster on paper, but a draw that felt like both a warning and a lifeline.

Player ratings: City’s fragile edge exposed

• Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10) Produced a vital interception to deny Beto early on and made two big saves from Ndiaye that kept City ahead. Those moments underlined his sharpness. Left stranded for the corner that O’Brien buried, and his command of the box vanished just when City needed it most.
• Matheus Nunes (5/10) Opened the pitch beautifully with a sweeping pass in the move that led to Doku’s opener, showing his range and vision. After the break, the game ran past him. Ndiaye targeted his side and Nunes never really got to grips with the duels or the tempo.
• Abdukodir Khusanov (6/10) Relished the physical battle with Beto in the first half, throwing himself into challenges and setting a combative tone. As Everton grew into the game, he too lost his cool, stepping out at the wrong times and contributing to the chaos rather than calming it.
• Marc Guehi (3/10) Early on, he looked composed, stepping into midfield, circulating the ball and helping City build from deep. Then came the mistake: a dreadful pass straight to Barry that swung the match. He did respond with a superb recovery tackle on Ndiaye later, but the damage from that error defined his night.
• Nico O’Reilly (6/10) Important to City’s structure before the interval, drifting inside to help progression and playing a part in the move for the opener. His positioning high and narrow helped them dominate territory. After the break, Everton ruthlessly attacked the space he left behind, turning his strength into a weakness.

City leave with a point, a stinging reminder of their vulnerability, and a winger in Doku who refuses to let their title defence die quietly. The question now is whether moments of individual brilliance can keep masking these cracks with four games left to decide everything.