Everton manager David Moyes and summer signing Thierno Barry reflected on a 3-3 draw for Everton against Manchester City.
City winger Jeremy Doku daggered a late first half strike into the back of the net for the guests, but their chances of claiming the Premier League title took a massive dent in a manic second half in Merseyside.
Barry capitalised on a misplaced back pass from Marc Guehi to equalise, then Jake O’Brien put the hosts into the lead before Barry cashed in on a Merlin Rohl delivery to put Everton 3-1 to the good.
‘We let ourselves down’
Unfortunately, City forward Erling Haaland immediately replied to bring the deficit back down to one goal, and Doku brilliantly buried the ball beyond Jordan Pickford during injury time of the second half.
For Moyes, hopes of continental competition have been hurt severely of late after similarly late blows against Liverpool and West Ham. However, his side’s strength against the elite should be credited.
"We let ourselves down because we defended the second goal so poorly. Look, at half-time we would have taken the result because were hugely outplayed in the first half. I wanted us to get a little bit closer to City. We couldn't get near them and to be fair.
“They played really well as well, I have to give them huge credit for that. It was probably the poorest we have played here, certainly against the better teams this season. The players made a great effort to get us in the game and really when we got to 3-1, we should be doing enough to see it out.
“[Barry] had quite a difficult time recently. He came off the bench and got himself a couple of goals, which is a great thing for any striker and will give him great confidence. I'm really pleased for him.
“I'm not sure [about Europe]. I think it's going to be tough. In the last couple of games, we have lost games late on and today we've draw. It could and probably will have an impact on our final position."
Barry pleased to find the net
On an individual note, Barry was delighted to be back in the scoring stakes for the Toffees.
"It's always a pleasure to play against a big team like Manchester City. I'm very happy to come on and score two goals. In the final, we had to settle for a draw so we need to keep pushing because there are three games left.
"When I was on the bench, I watched the tactics of City and saw high pressures from City, so I knew if we could win the ball back we could counter-attack. I think this is a weakness of City.
"We need to take it game by game and see where we are at the end of the season."