Manchester City Title Hopes Revived by Doku's Late Equalizer
Manchester City walked out at the Hill Dickinson Stadium as if intent on suffocating Everton from the opening whistle. They pressed high, zipped the ball around, and hemmed the hosts into their own half. For 43 minutes, though, the scoreboard refused to budge and a single lapse almost undid all that early dominance.
Half an hour in, City were carved open. A low cross flashed across their box, and Beto lurked, ready for the simplest of tap-ins. Gianluigi Donnarumma read it in a heartbeat, flinging himself out to cut out the danger with a sprawling interception that felt every bit as valuable as a goal.
The warning shot jolted City. The response came from the liveliest player on the pitch.
Jeremy Doku, electric from the first minute, finally cracked Everton. Rayan Cherki slipped a simple pass into his path, but the finish was anything but routine: one touch, then a sweeping strike arced into the top corner. A ruthless, rising shot, and City’s pressure finally had a reward.
At half-time, Pep Guardiola’s side looked in control. Then the second half started, and the champions simply fell apart.
Everton emerged transformed, sharper in the duels and braver on the ball. Iliman Ndiaye twice forced Donnarumma into strong saves, the Italian standing tall as City’s composure began to fray. The warning signs were there. City didn’t heed them.
Marc Guehi then produced the kind of mistake that haunts defenders. Under no real pressure, he passed the ball straight to substitute Thierno Barry on the edge of his own area. Barry didn’t hesitate. One touch to steady himself, then he drilled the equaliser in with obvious delight. After a brief check and a tangle of confusion, the decision came: onside, goal given. Everton level, City rattled.
The momentum flipped completely.
Just over five minutes later, the home side were in front. A corner swung into the six-yard box, Erling Haaland misjudged the flight and missed his header, and Jake O’Brien thundered in behind him to power home. Donnarumma was rooted. Everton’s bench exploded. City’s defence, so assured in the first half, looked suddenly brittle.
David Moyes’ team sensed something more than an upset; they sensed a statement. They pushed again and found a third. Merlin Röhl miscued a shot, but the mishit turned into the perfect assist as Barry reacted quickest, diverting the ball into the net with nine minutes of normal time remaining. From 1-0 up to 3-1 down, City’s title defence was unravelling in real time.
Guardiola’s side needed something, anything, to cling to. Haaland provided it almost immediately. Released in behind, he surged clear and lifted a cool finish over Jordan Pickford, a trademark burst and dink that dragged City back to 3-2 and reignited faint hope.
Still, the clock kept draining away. The gap to Arsenal loomed large. The away end grew tense. One more chance, maybe. But it would need a moment of individual brilliance.
Doku delivered again, deep into stoppage time.
In the 97th minute, the winger cut in from the flank to the edge of the box, this time onto his right foot. The angle was familiar, the outcome devastating. He shaped his body and bent a curling effort beyond Pickford, a mirror image of his first goal but from the opposite side, the ball screaming into the far corner. Unstoppable. Season-saving, perhaps.
Everton slumped. City roared. The final whistle followed soon after, the 3-3 draw feeling like a victory for the visitors and a gut punch for Moyes’ side.
The point leaves City five adrift of Arsenal with four games still to play. The champions are still alive, just. But nights like this, when they veer from control to chaos and back again, will decide whether this campaign ends with another trophy lift or with Doku’s late, curling strike remembered as the moment the title slipped just out of reach.
