You knew the Premier League title race was going to have another major plot twist or two. The first one came last night, as Manchester City blew a 1-0 second half lead at Everton, to fall behind 3-1. They salvaged a point, in the closing seconds, on Jeremy Doku’s equalizer, which made the end result a 3-3 draw. The late second half was about as riveting as a football match can be, and it provided much more than entertainment value. The result changed who sits in the driver’s seat of the Premier League title race from Man City to Arsenal. And City manager Pep Guardiola admitted as much.
“(The title) is not in our hands,” Guardiola said on Monday. “Before that game it was, and Arsenal’s as well. But now, in our hands, no,”
List of Arsenal and Manchester City Remaining Fixtures
Arsenal
West Ham United (A) – May 10
Google Result Probability: Arsenal win 60% Draw 22% West Ham United win 18%
Burnley (H) – May 18
Crystal Palace (A) – May 24*
Manchester City
Brentford (H) – May 9
Google Result Probability: Manchester win 71% Draw 16% Brentford win 13%
Crystal Palace (H) – May 13
Bournemouth (A) – May 19
Aston Villa (H) – May 24*
*Denotes Championship Sunday
Current Premier League Title Race Standing
Points Matches Played Goal Differential Tie-Breaker Goals Scored Second Tiebreaker
Arsenal 76 35 +41 67
Manchester City 71 34 +37 69
So we’ll just have to see how it all shapes out during the run in here.
“We have four games in the Premier League, next is Brentford, and it will be quite similar because the competitors are good, and we will see what happens,” Guardiola said.
“Of course, (we go into those games with belief), like we came here.”
No matter what happens, this league title race is going to be fun for neutrals everywhere as it concludes.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.