Everton 3-3 Man City (Barry 68′, 81, O’Brien 73 | Doku 43′, 90+7, Haaland 83′)
HILL DICKINSON STADIUM — You can play for 20 more years in this new stadium and you will struggle to fit as much mania into a single half. It ended, as is the modern way, with neither team really happy and half of the Everton supporters clapping while the rest chanted that the Premier League was “corrupt as f–k”. Oh, and the Premier League title race has twisted again too. Breathe deeply; we’ll be going again soon.
Before Spursy and the modern concept of Arsenal lacking bottle in title races, there was “Typical City”. Go back to the 1990s, and Manchester City were the original club that could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, or so their supporters would tell you. It’s been a dormant concept for a while, thanks to Pep Guardiola. Until now, perhaps.
The common wisdom, despite all those Arsenal doubts, is that it’s always better to have the points on the board and be chased. It seemed especially true this season, because of the goal difference equation. Arsenal watched madness unfold and each Everton goal was their own victory.
Typical title race rules were off the table. No longer was it enough for a team to try and win. They must consider the margin of their victory, whether to push or hold, risking the comparative calamity of dropping two points in search of two goals. Perhaps that does make the mind play tricks and very good footballers do very stupid things.
Manchester City were coasting. They had dominated the game’s opening passages, completing 98 passes in the final third to Everton’s three in the first 20 minutes. They huffed and puffed for a little while, finding ways not to score until they did. Jeremy Doku doesn’t score often enough and he scores with his left foot once in a blue moon.
Because, with a one-goal lead, City still trailed Arsenal by three goals – did that become a factor? Certainly wide spaces opened in midfield, one pass freeing Iliman Ndiaye or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Gianluigi Donnarumma had already made a save to deny Ndiaye and a block to stop a cross to Beto. You wanted to shake the whole team and ask whether they wanted to just chill out a bit.
Everton’s initial response was one of physical assault; if you can’t catch them, kick them. Michael Keane was fortunate not to have a yellow card upgraded for a hack on Doku. Beto left one on Marc Guehi, so obvious that it prompted a response from City players along the lines of “Are you alright mate?”
The crowd played its part, acting with audible righteous anger every time an Everton player had a free-kick given against them for committing an obvious foul. It must be exhausting, all this performative rage. It starts with a moan about a referee and ends with you booing a throw-in and screaming handball when an opposition player gets hit in the face.
And it did seem to rattle City, knocking them off their path and onto the margins of sense and reason. Suddenly there’s seven players caught up the pitch. Suddenly England’s best central defender is playing the worst backpass of his career. Suddenly international-class midfielders are playing the sort of passes that makes you clap a young kid at training so they don’t beat themselves up about it.
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Manchester City are not finished just yet of course. There was enough spirit in the comeback to persuade you of that. Doku’s second goal, with Donnarumma playing as auxiliary striker, possessed the quality and drama to persuade you they’re still fighting. But it is out of their hands and they had it.
Presumably another twist will be along soon, because that’s just how this silly Premier League season is going to go. But until then, swallow your narrative whole. Turn those expectations upside down. Stop making conclusions or even tentative predictions because you’ll only look stupid anyway.
Because none of this is normal. Arsenal are supposed to be the ones who gulp and fret and try to figure out on the job how to play it right. Manchester City, with this manager, are supposed to be the relentless machine, floating above the psychodrama rather than writing their own chapter. This one is Arsenal’s to lose again. Three more wins will do it.