Pep Guardiola makes title race admission after Man City drop points at Everton

Jeremy Doku's last-minute equalizer secured a potentially crucial point for City -Credit:Stu Forster/Getty Images

"If they win their games the title will be for Arsenal. Now have to win our next game, we have to recover well for a series of games, and this is what we have to do.

"The point is better than no points, but it would have been better to win the game. Many things happened – the difficulty of the opponent, the incredibly aggressive way they play.

"We had composure in the first half and after they made a step up [in the second half] we maybe didn't have the intention that we did in the first half. Our second and third goals were outstanding and we take a point.

"It was in our hands and in Arsenal's hands, and now it is not in our hands. But we have Brentford on Saturday and we continue and we'll see what happens.

"Better effort cannot be possible. The message is the same as the day before. We have four games left and a final – win the games. That is the message. We play for that, even with difficulties for many reasons."

Guardiola, however, was lavish in his praise for his players and the remarkable comeback they mounted against Everton, saying: "We knew we had to win the game with how many games we had left, but without that emotion you cannot come back. If you give up, you cannot do what we have done tonight."

City return to action when they welcome Brentford to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with Arsenal making the trip to a struggling West Ham United the following day. Prior to that, Mikel Arteta's team must first navigate the not-so-small matter of a UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.