Manchester City dropped two points on Monday night against Everton and now sit sit five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race
Manchester City players react after drawing 3-3 with Everton on Monday night
Manchester City players react after drawing 3-3 with Everton on Monday night(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Pep Guardiola was in a reflective mood after seeing his Manchester City side lead, fall behind and eventually draw with Everton on their inaugural visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. The trip to Merseyside was highlighted by many as a potential hiccup for the Blues and so it proved.
In his press conference, Guardiola spoke positively of his players. "I said how good they are, how they fought all the time. Brentford, recover and go. And after, Crystal Palace and FA Cup final.
"Game by game will happen with everyone because the guys who came from the bench did very good things, and see what happens. Better effort cannot be possible. The message is the same as the day before. We have four games left that are finals - win the games. We played for that, even with difficulties for many reasons.
"It's better the point than no points. It would have been better to win the game than the point." While Guardiola won't be asking for anything more from his players post-Everton, if the Blues fail to win the league, they know exactly why.
City have now dropped a whopping 17 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season. 12 of those since the turn of the year, the joint most by any side in the top flight alongside Tottenham and Newcastle.
The manner those points were dropped will be a concern too. Two points were dropped at Arsenal early in the season, while City had a two-goal advantage against a terrible Spurs side and only claimed a point. Chelsea nicked a point in the last minute at the Etihad in January, the Blues led twice against relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest only to draw and Gianluigi Donnarumma made an uncharacteristic error to throw away another two points against West Ham. City have dropped five points from winning positions against Brighton alone.
Rayan Cherki reacts during Manchester City's draw with Tottenham earlier this year
Rayan Cherki reacts during Manchester City's draw with Tottenham earlier this year
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In contrast Arsenal have dropped just nine points from winning positions this season, seven of which have come in 2026.
In February, they dropped leads in consecutive matches against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers that gave City a sniff at the title. Since then, the Gunners suffered three defeats in four matches around the March international break, heading into April.
But through the course of the season, they have been the side who have shown the consistency needed to win the Premier League. The title race is not over but Arsenal have their tails up now and should go on to win it.
City meanwhile must reflect on a season that has been an improvement on last year. The Carabao Cup is in the bag and the FA Cup could follow.
The younger players will only grow from this experience and should improvement because of it. But if they are to win the league in the future, they cannot afford to be dropping this many points from winning positions again.