What a night at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Everton, desperately needing a win to keep their European hopes alive, hosted a Manchester City side chasing the Premier League title. After two straight defeats had dropped the Toffees into the bottom half of the table, all eyes were on David Moyes to see if he could stop Pep Guardiola's star-studded machine.
The first half was all City, but they only managed to break through right at the whistle. Then came a second half that turned the match on its head. Substitute Thierno Barry went from zero to hero, bagging two goals to go with a brilliant Jake O'Brien header from a corner. Erling Haaland pulled one back for City, but it looked like Everton would somehow steal all three points. That's when Jeremy Doku stepped up with a stunning late strike to deny the Toffees and snatch a 3-3 draw.
Beto returned to lead the line after recovering from concussion suffered in the defeat to Liverpool. With Idrissa Gana Gueye a surprise absentee, Tim Iroegbunam partnered James Garner in midfield. Young German Merlin Röhl got the nod over Dwight McNeil, making his first start since Everton's 1-0 win at Aston Villa back in January.
The action started fast. A long ball from Dewsbury-Hall sailed through to Donnarumma, and Everton were immediately chasing shadows as City zipped the ball around for two minutes straight. A slip from Nunez gave Ndiaye a chance, but he couldn't make anything of it.
Röhl was called for a keen challenge on Doku, setting the tone for the night's officiating. City worked the free-kick around until Mykolenko intervened. Dewsbury-Hall tried to break, but Cherki went down easily, earning City another free-kick. Dewsbury-Hall then broke up a City attack, but Garner found himself surrounded by four defenders. City forced a turnover, advanced, and won the first corner. They played it short, O'Brien half-cleared, and Cherki had the first shot—over Pickford's bar.
Another soft call went City's way as O'Reilly went down under minimal contact. City opted for a game of keep-away until Doku won another corner off Röhl. The pressure kept building, and the stage was set for a dramatic finish.