Moyes praises Manchester City after Everton's chaotic draw

Everton and Manchester City drew 3-3 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and the title race felt the impact straight away. Everton came from 3-1 down in a chaotic 13-minute spell, which briefly helped Arsenal's chase at the top. David Moyes still spent most of his post-match comments arguing that Pep Guardiola's team are the best side in the Premier League.

Why Moyes still backed City

Moyes was clear about the standard City set, even after his own team had dragged itself back into the game. Speaking to goal.com, he said: "I'm disappointed because we [Everton] were on the verge of taking three points against the best team at the moment in the Premier League," and added, "Whether Man City go on to prove they're the best team by winning it I don't know. But there's no doubt they're playing better than any other team in the Premier League."

That is a fair opinion to hold, even if the table now has Arsenal ahead. Arsenal are top with 76 points from 35 matches, while Manchester City are second with 71 points from 34. City still have a game in hand, and Erling Haaland has 25 Premier League goals, so the attacking case for Guardiola's side is hardly thin.

Moyes also admitted how hard the first half was for Everton. "But at halftime, we would have taken this result because we were hugely outplayed in the first half," he said. That matters, because it puts the comeback in the right frame. Everton rescued a point, but they did it after spending long spells chasing the ball rather than controlling the match.

What the draw means for Arsenal

The draw gave Arsenal a better opening than they had before kick-off, but it does not settle anything by itself. As the brief notes, Arsenal can win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years if they win their remaining three league matches against West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace.

That is why Moyes' praise for City is not really a contradiction. The league table says Arsenal are in front. The performance against Everton still showed why City remain a serious threat, especially with a game in hand and the sort of attacking output that has kept them close. Moyes was speaking from the perspective of the match he had just watched, and on that evidence his verdict was hard to dismiss.

The final stretch is still tight. Arsenal have the edge, City have the game in hand, and this 3-3 draw only sharpened the margin for error for both clubs.