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Pep Guardiola has conceded that Manchester City no longer control their Premier League title destiny after a dramatic 3-3 draw with Everton.
The result leaves City five points behind leaders Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand, significantly weakening their position in the title race.
Guardiola admits loss of control
“It’s now not in our hands, before it was, now no,” Guardiola said after the match.
“Four games we have (remaining) in the Premier League. They will be quite similar and we’ll see what happens.”
City had the opportunity to draw level on points with Arsenal but instead dropped crucial points, shifting the balance firmly in favour of the leaders.
Late fight not enough
Despite the setback, Guardiola acknowledged his side’s response after falling behind.
“It’s better than losing. We’d rather win. We play for that and we just showed what a team we are. We tried everything. The players were aggressive,” he added.
Jeremy Doku scored a stoppage-time equaliser to complete his brace, while Erling Haaland also found the net in the closing stages.
Doku said: “It’s painful now but there’s still a lot of games to go and anything can happen. We’ll keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and our fans.”
Run-in favours Arsenal
City face Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Aston Villa in their remaining fixtures.
By contrast, Arsenal’s schedule appears more favourable, including matches against West Ham United and Burnley.
From a competitive standpoint, City remain mathematically in contention, but now require a slip from Arsenal to revive their title prospects while maintaining a flawless finish to the campaign.