Manchester City took a dramatic blow to its Premier League title hopes after a chaotic 3-3 draw away at Everton at the Hill Dickinson stadium.

The result leaves Pep Guardiola's side trailing Arsenal in the title race, and the dropped points hand a decisive advantage to Mikel Arteta's team at a crucial moment of the season.

City started dominant, kept the ball, controlled the territory - but couldn't break through Everton's disciplined defence. The pressure was rewarded just before half-time when Jeremy Doku cut inside and curled the ball into the top corner. A deserved lead at the break. Or so it seemed.

The second half was a different film. Everton came out with intensity, the home side equalised through Tierno Barry after a defensive mistake, and then Jake O'Brien rose to head in a corner for 2-1. Barry then added his second - first to react to a loose ball in the box. 3-1 Everton, and City stood there watching like someone was lifting the dinner off their table.

The visitors woke up. Erling Haaland pulled one back to make it 3-2, and the team threw everything forward. Doku, again, was the rescuer - deep in stoppage time, the Belgian picked up the ball on the edge of the box and rifled it into the far corner. 3-3, with practically the last kick.

For City, a last-gasp equaliser looks like triumph - but the maths tells a different story. When you go ahead, then trail 3-1, and rescue a point in the 90+ minute, that's not a celebration moment - that's an alarm. The defence of one of the league's best sides folded several times on basic situations, and Arteta is still sleeping soundly.

Everton showed they can be a headache for anyone. But the question for Guardiola is still the same: how many more of these „strange" halves does City need before someone admits the defensive crisis isn't passing through?