Trust and loyalty were two of the biggest themes on “Monday Night Raw.”

Nobody on the WWE Raw roster has any trust in Seth Rollins, while Liv Morgan questioned the loyalty of Roxanne Perez after her impromptu meeting with Finn Balor last week.

First, let’s get to Rollins.

“The Visionary” broke the trust of many when he aligned himself with Paul Heyman to topple Roman Reigns and CM Punk in the main event of WrestleMania 41 Night 1 last year. He picked up the World Heavyweight Championship and brought in Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed to his group, The Vision, which later disintegrated under his watch. Breakker and Reed turned on him as he watched Austin Theory and Logan Paul join the faction before WrestleMania 42 rolled around.

PAUL HEYMAN TURNS ON CM PUNK AND ROMAN REIGNS TO DELIVER SETH ROLLINS WIN IN EPIC WRESTLEMANIA 41 MATCH

Bron Breakker attacks Seth Rollins during Monday Night RAW at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., on May 4, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

After Rollins lost to Gunther at WrestleMania 42, he’s turned his sights back on Breakker. And even though Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins (the Street Profits) appeared to have his back, they’ve made it clear they have no trust in him. The trust issues became apparent again after Breakker brutalized Rollins at the start of the show and then took care of Ford and Dawkins later in the night.

Ford and Dawkins jumped Theory and Paul as Theory was taking on Joe Hendry in a singles match. Breakker handled Ford and Dawkins with relative ease. Rollins came out to save the Street Profits. But as Ford cleared out Theory and Paul on the outside, Rollins was distracted for a split second. It allowed Breakker to hit another spear on Rollins.

“Tez, thank you for getting me that second spear out there, pal,” Rollins told Ford in the back.

“Well, Seth, thanks to your past antics with The Vision, nobody, nobody, trusts you,” Ford fired back.

“Nobody trusts me. You don’t trust me. I don’t even know you (pointing to Hendry), you probably don’t trust me,” Rollins responded. “Guess what? I don’t even trust myself. Who cares? We’re in the same fight. You’re fighting The Vision, I’m fighting the Vision. Sometimes, those fights are gonna come together. Here’s the deal, you stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of your way.”

Rollins walked off getting the last word. He will face Bron Breakker at Backlash on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Morgan put Perez to the test. She wanted to make clear that “The Prodigy” wasn’t going to side with Balor and fracture the group even further.

“What the hell was Finn doing in the clubhouse last week? You see, I’m not worried about Finn, Roxanne, because JD is going to take care of Finn tonight, “Morgan said to Perez. “I’m worried about you. Why did Finn think it was OK to talk to you and why didn’t you tell me and why do I need to watch Netflix to figure out what’s going on in the Judgment Day?”

Perez said she didn’t say anything because she “made it very clear” to Balor to remove himself from the clubhouse and don’t comeback.

LIV MORGAN RETURNS TO THE TOP OF WOMEN’S DIVISION WITH WRESTLEMANIA 42 WIN OVER STEPHANIE VAQUER

“You’re right though, I should have said something. But Liv, you know I’m loyal to the Judgment Day,” Perez responded.

Morgan made Perez promise that she wouldn’t keep “anymore secrets from the family.” Perez agreed and repeated what Morgan told her.

Perez later helped Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez and Dominik Mysterio distract Balor in his match against McDonagh. It seemed Perez made clear where her loyalties lie.

Later, Morgan said that Rodriguez and Perez were going after tag team champions Brie Bella and Paige next.

Roman Reigns, Jacob Fatu contract signing

Jacob Fatu attacks Roman Reigns during Monday Night RAW at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., on May 4, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

Roman Reigns was hot coming into “Monday Night Raw” after receiving a Tongan death grip from Jacob Fatu to end the show last week.

He didn’t want to hear anything that Raw general manager Adam Pearce had to say. But after Pearce told him that Fatu wasn’t in the building yet, Reigns waited his turn to address the “Samoan Werewolf” until later in the night.

The two met in the ring to sign the contract for their World Heavyweight Championship match at Backlash. Reigns made clear to Fatu that he was always watching him from a distance as Fatu grinded his way to get to WWE and became a main-event player.

“I was the one in this company holding the door open for Solo (Sikoa),” he said after Fatu mentioned that it was Sikoa who got him into WWE in the first place. “Solo was the one who brought you in, huh? Well, guess what, I brought Solo in and therefore, I brought you in. And I will be damned if there was not respect to be had in this business from me.”

ROMAN REIGNS, CM PUNK PUT ON PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING MASTERCLASS AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Reigns questioned Fatu’s use of the Tongan death grip he said Fatu used as a “desperate” measure.

“You don’t do that to family,” Reigns explained. “You don’t do that to your own. You don’t do that to your ‘Tribal Chief.”

Fatu stared down Reigns before he responded.

“Yes, I am desperate. Yes, it feels like it’s just me against the world. Yes, my back is against the wall. So, I had no other choice but to take you out, take this title and everything that comes with it,” Fatu explained. “And to keep it 100, then I’m going to put a chokehold on this game and I’m gonna squeeze out every dollar and every cent just the way this company has been doing our family for decades.”

Fatu said he has no intention of going back to where he came from and was as “desperate” as ever to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Reigns responded that he wasn’t concerned about just Fatu’s “seven kids,” but the generations of their family that came before them and the ones that are up next.

When Reigns said that Fatu was “beneath” him, Fatu got up and tried to put the Tongan death grip on Reigns again. Reigns threw a desk chair at Fatu. As Fatu tried to go for the death grip again, Reigns broke out of it. Fatu ended up getting the advantage in the end, finally sinching the Tongan death grip on Reigns.

Fatu signed the contract and the match was made “official.”

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Sol Ruca steps up to “The Man”

There were a few moments of celebration on “Monday Night Raw” as newcomer Sol Ruca “officially” signed her contract with the Raw brand.

Pearce said he missed the days when he was at NXT and a “blue-chip” prospect was able to sign a contract with one of the main brands. He said “today was one of those days” as he introduced Ruca to the Omaha, Nebraska, crowd.

Women’s intercontinental champion Becky Lynch interrupted the ordeal. She claimed that Ruca’s time should have been given to her to celebrate her own greatness and was upset that Pearce scheduled Iyo Sky in a match against her last week.

Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch confronts Sol Ruca during Monday Night RAW at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb., on May 4, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

“Becky, not everything is about you,” Ruca declared. “Everyone knows who you are. I know who you are. I know what you’ve done and I know everything that you’ve accomplished. But the thing is, I didn’t expect to find out when I met you that you are exactly what everyone says that you are … a rude, big-headed, b—h.”

Lynch was flabbergasted and asked whether the crowd would let her talk to her like that. The crowd seemingly backed Ruca in the exchange.

“I’m Sol Ruca, and if you ever interrupt me again, not only will I kick your a–, I’ll snatch your soul,” she added.

Lynch went to hit Ruca, put slapped Pearce instead. Ruca hit Lynch with a Sol Snatcher to end the segment. Lynch appears to have a new challenger for her title.

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Raw recap

Asuka hit Iyo Sky with a mist in a confrontation before their Backlash match.

JD McDonagh def. Finn Balor.

Ethan Page and Rusev def. Penta and Je’Von Evans.

Joe Hendry def. Austin Theory via DQ.

Oba Femi def. Otis in Oba Femi’s Open Challenge.

Original El Grande Americano, Julis Creed and Brutus Creed def. El Grande Americo, Rayo and Bravo.

Naoya Inoue outboxed Junto Nakatani on Saturday to retain his undisputed super-bantamweight titles and reaffirm his position amongst boxing’s best, but in the eyes of Devin Haney, there is another fighter who deserves top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.

In a technical affair, Inoue landed the cleaner shots to claim a unanimous decision win and hand Nakatani a first career defeat; that being a seventh consecutive defence of all four marbles in the 122lb division and undeniably a career-best win.

As a result, many fans now view Inoue as the new number one on the pound-for-pound list, with former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk consequently dropped down to second place despite remarkable wins in both of those divisions.

Speaking on Inside The Ring, reigning WBO welterweight world champion Haney disagreed with that decision, believing that Inoue’s win over Nakatani is not enough to displace the Ukrainian.

“That [list] is some BS man. I think [that] Usyk [is still number one].”

“Think about it like this, Nakatani had a hard fight with the guy that he fought last, [Sebastian] Hernandez… we don’t even know him.”

It is now being reported that Inoue will target another major event in the autumn, his last at super-bantamweight, potentially facing off with unified super-flyweight world champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez, who is also highly ranked in many pound-for-pound ratings.

Before a possible clash against Inoue can take place, Rodriguez first moves up to bantamweight to challenge WBA champion Antonio Vargas on June 13 in Glendale, Arizona.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel on Tuesday won the toss and opted to bat first vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL match at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.In a big boost for DC bowling, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi came back into the side after missing few matches due to head injury that he had suffered during a home match against Punjab Kings on April 25.On the other hand, CSK brought in Akeal Hosein and Gurjapneet Singh to rejig their combination due to the injury to Ramakrishna Ghosh.”“We will bat first. I think the surface looks good, and we feel it’s a very good pitch. Maybe in the second innings it might slow down a bit, so I’d like to give that advantage to our bowlers. The way the tournament is going, it’s a very important match. But at the same time, it’s more important to focus on how you’re playing. You can’t think too much about points – if you do, you put extra pressure on yourself. That’s what we’ve been discussing as a team, we just want to play good cricket, and the points will take care of themselves. We’ve lost some close matches, but if you look at the season overall, I’m happy with the wins and performances. That’s what happens sometimes, but if we talk about cricket, I’m very happy with the boys’ batting and bowling. In fielding, if we had done better, we could have been in a stronger position. One change – Lungi Ngidi in place of Kyle Jamieson,” Axar Patel said at the toss. While CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said, “We were looking to bowl first, but the pitch looks a bit dry, so I don’t think it will change much. So batting or bowling first won’t make much difference. (On the team atmosphere) There have been some positive signs in the last 2–3 matches. Even though we haven’t won every game, there are good positives. Since the first three matches of the tournament, we’ve improved a lot in all departments. Our bowling has been doing really well, and the batting is slowly coming together. We just want to carry that momentum into the last phase of the tournament. We’re really happy coming into this game, especially after the last one. But this is a new game, so we want to start fresh and start well. It’s also great to see youngsters getting opportunities and stepping up. It’s a good sign for the franchise – they are repaying the faith shown by the management. Still a long way to go.” Teams:Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet SinghDelhi Capitals (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan

On Saturday, Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois collide at the Co-op Live Arena with the WBO heavyweight world title at stake, as Wardley seeks to prove that he is a valid and worthy ruler after being elevated to the throne.

All-British clashes for the heavyweight title have become more common over the last few decades and the United Kingdom’s presence amongst the divisional elite has become an expectation rather than a blessing. Although, fights for boxing’s biggest prize, away from the capital cities, are still a rarity on British shores.

Still, when Manchester hosts Wardley and Dubois, it will be the sixth occasion in boxing history where a heavyweight world title bout has headed to Manchester. Here, we recall the other instances where the coveted crown was on the line in the ‘Capital of the North’, all of which took place at Manchester Arena.

Herbie Hide vs. Damon Reed – April 18, 1998

Herbie Hide needed just two rounds to run through Tony Tucker in Norwich and get his hands on the WBO heavyweight world title for a second time back in 1997.

His first defence was a forgettable encounter but on a memorable night, as he dispatched of the United States’ Damon Reed on the undercard of Carl Thompson’s triumph over Chris Eubank, on a bill that also featured Naseem Hamed’s stoppage of Wilfredo Vazquez.

Hide took less than 20 seconds to floor Reed, buzzing the American with a straight right-hand before dropping him with a left hook whilst on unsteady legs. Reed returned to his feet, with referee Rudy Battle grimacing as he permitted the challenger to continue, only to change his mind when Hide rushed in to finish the job.

Battle waved off the contest, bringing the ‘action’ to a close inside of a minute, with Reed failing to land a single blow and throwing only one in what was a quick, quirky and questionable affair.

David Haye vs. John Ruiz – April 3, 2010

After a career-defining triumph against the gigantic Nikolai Valuev in Germany, David Haye returned to British soil to defend the WBA heavyweight world title against two-time champion John Ruiz.

Past his prime at the age of 38 years old, the Massachusetts veteran soon looked overmatched, floored by Haye inside 30 seconds after being on the receiving end of a brutal one-two from the former cruiserweight ruler.

Moments later, a series of right-hands reined in on the challenger, who hit the deck for a second time whilst claiming to have been struck on the back of the head. Confusingly, Haye was deducted a point, but the knockdown was awarded, before Ruiz battled to survive the remainder of the opening round.

To his credit, the experienced Ruiz bravely fought on and grew into the bout, but he was forced to take a knee in the fifth, as a measured right-hand got through and landed flush on his chin.

In the sixth, Ruiz took another knee, but as things became more one-sided, the towel came in and the show was closed in the ninth, as Haye scored a dominant victory in his first outing as heavyweight world champion.

David Haye vs. Audley Harrison – November 13, 2010

In his first major boxing event, Eddie Hearn promoted a showdown between David Haye and Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison. Representing the challenger, Hearn informed British fight fans that Harrison was capable of dethroning ‘The Hayemaker’ – who headlined the M.E.N. Arena for a second consecutive time since becoming the WBA heavyweight champion.

Hearn’s estimations proved to be wide of the mark and an uninspiring and underwhelming contest ensued, with Harrison hardly throwing a punch, as boos echoed around the 23,000-capacity venue in between rounds.

In round three, Haye took the initiative and piled the pressure onto Harrison, who covered up and offered nothing in return, before collapsing face-first into the canvas. ‘A-force’ rose to his feet as a wounded man, with Haye quick to pounce onto his fellow Briton and draw the stoppage from referee Luis Pabon.

Anthony Joshua vs. Eric Molina – December 10, 2016

Anthony Joshua met with Eric Molina for a second defence of the IBF blet, on a card that also featured Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora’s first fight.

As expected, ‘AJ’ dictated proceedings with the Texan reluctant to engage. In the third-round, Joshua found a home for a pinpoint straight right-hand, slumping Molina into the corner, who looked amazed at the power that he had just felt.

Still, Molina was able to fight on, but only momentarily, as referee Steve Gray intervened after clean shots consistently landed on the helpless challenger, awarding Joshua an 18th consecutive knockout win and teeing up that legendary showdown with Wladimir Klitschko.

Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury – September 23, 2017

Last but not least comes the only heavyweight world title affair in Manchester to have lasted more than nine rounds, as Joseph Parker made the maiden defence of his WBO belt against fellow unbeaten heavyweight, Hughie Fury.

In a scrappy fight with little output of any note, Joseph Parker landed the more consequential blows in what proved to be a dismal dust-up, doing enough to claim a majority-decision victory (118-110, 118-110, 114-114).

Parker would earn a clash with Anthony Joshua off the back of this win and although he became the first fighter to go the distance with ‘AJ’, he suffered a first career defeat and lost his title.

Mason Mount is coming towards the end of his third season at Old Trafford, where injuries, setbacks and competition have reduced him to just 69 appearances

Gary Neville has called on Manchester United to cash in on Mason Mount in order to help raise funds for a squad overhaul this summer. The midfielder’s Old Trafford career hasn’t quite turned out how he would’ve hoped, and the United icon believes now might be the time to move him on.

United will be back in the Champions League next season after Michael Carrick’s huge impact since replacing Ruben Amorim in January. Carrick has led the Reds to third in the table, with Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Liverpool guaranteeing their place in Europe’s premier competition next season.

Despite this, Neville believes that if his old club are going to be able to compete both domestically and in Europe next season, then a squad overhaul will be required – and Mount is a player who should be considered being sacrificed.

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“Michael Carrick will be very happy tonight but I think he will also be disappointed deep down that they haven’t gone on to win that game 3-0 or 4-0,” he said on his Sky Sports podcast.

“They should have killed that game and put Liverpool to sleep because they were nowhere near this football match.

“He’s won the game and that’s the most important thing but Carrick won’t be fooled by some of what he saw in that second half.

“He will know he needs to rebuild the defence and midfield. If you’re going to play 4-4-2, which I am massively in favour of United doing, you have to have two very special players in there and defenders who can play one-on-one.

“You’re asking a lot of the players. I think United need a left-back for next season because Luke Shaw has played every game this year and he may struggle. They need a centre-back, 100 per cent, and they need two midfield players.

“They are the four priorities right now. They’re the players I would look at adding to this squad.”

And one way Neville believes United can fund a rebuild of their defence and midfield is by selling Mount.

It has long been reported that United’s priority this summer is to revamp their midfield, with Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Aurelien Tchouameni all being linked with moves to Old Trafford this season.

While Mount is coming towards the end of his third season at Old Trafford, it is safe to say that the transfer has not worked as he would have hoped.

Injuries, setbacks and competition have reduced the England international to just 69 appearances since joining from Chelsea.

The 27-year-old, who is under contract with United until the summer of 2028, has only made 20 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

And Neville appears to given up hope on the England star, adding: “Look, if you could then maybe trade Mason Mount for someone else who maybe can play in and out and can be a bit more flexible across the midfield and forward line then I would say go for a fifth.

“But if you can’t, I would say those four areas are the priority and they’ve got to be top-notch, those players.”

Neville calling on United to cash in on Mount should not come as a surprise, as he voiced concern about the midfielder moving to Old Trafford back in 2023.

The former full-back didn’t believe Mount was the solution to his old side’s problems at the time, suggesting they should be aiming to bring in a more established option to help the club take the next step.

He said: “I am surprised about the Mason Mount one, to be honest with you. For the reported £60million fee… he is a very good player, that isn’t a question for me.

“But I look at the players United have got already in terms of Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred and Scott McTominay. Do I think Mount is the player to go in and sort all that out? I’m not quite sure.

“I think you would have been better off going and playing £100million plus on Jude Bellingham or £80-100million on Declan Rice and getting something you think can be the real thing. Mount would be a very good addition to United’s squad, but it is a lot of money for a squad addition.

“Does Mount, Casemiro and Fernandes work as a midfield-three? Spending £60million, you have got to get that jump towards winning the league from third place.

“United, at this moment in time, they haven’t got the money and they haven’t got the promise of the new ownership to be able to throw the big money at players.”

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

Group 1 winner Sepals remains on course for a Queensland raid under trainer Cliff Brown.

Last spring, the gelding secured the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, Brown’s debut Group 1 win since resuming in Australia post his 2021 Singapore spell.

Focus lies on the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm come June 13, with Brown ready to cease activities if the four-year-old isn’t fully fit.

Von Hauke’s Listed Golden Mile (1600m) victory at Bendigo on Saturday positions the stable with a possible second Stradbroke aspirant.

First-up fourth in Flemington’s Newmarket Handicap (1200m), Sepals then travelled to Sydney as favourite for Rosehill’s Doncaster Prelude (1500m) on March 28.

The gelding lacked sharpness then, per Brown, who cited a burdensome weight and a track softened by Sydney Carnival usage, and Sepals stayed off-form in Melbourne.

Plans for Randwick’s Group 1 All-Aged Stakes (1400m) on April 18 were shelved in favour of a short paddock holiday.

“He had 10 days off and he’s come back in tremendous order,” Brown said.

“He just wasn’t himself, but he seems right now.

“I don’t think he appreciated the track up in Sydney, but just afterwards when we got him home, he just wasn’t himself.

“We know him intimately and he wasn’t right.

“I gave him a jump-out, which was OK, without being great, but then he had the 10 days off and I thought, if he’s OK, we’ll be able to continue on and if he’s not, we’ll go to the paddock.

“At this point he seems good and if he’s right, we’ll head up to Queensland, and he can have a run at the end of the month with the aim of hopefully getting him to the Stradbroke.”

Discover leading racing betting markets ahead of the Stradbroke Handicap.

Marc Guehi looked glum as he headed for the Manchester City bus outside Hill Dickinson Stadium. Understandably, too. His ability to pick the right pass had helped him settle smoothly into the City defence. Until he picked the wrong pass, supplied Thierno Barry with a goal and a 3-3 draw altered the title race.

This had seemed a sequel to 2014 and 2023, a night when City chalked up crucial wins at Everton in the run-in. Instead, there were flashbacks to a couple of other games which, indirectly, led to City becoming champions. City conceded three times in 12 minutes on Monday; in 2014, in ‘Crystanbul’, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool let in three in the last 11 minutes away at Crystal Palace. That also finished 3-3. Go back to 2012, and City’s first league title since 1968 was aided by David Moyes’ Everton, mounting an extraordinary comeback to draw 4-4 with Manchester United. In each case, two points were dropped in dramatic fashion.

It may be of scant consolation to Guehi now but, if Arsenal hold on to their advantage at the Premier League summit, his uncharacteristic error will be far from the only reason. In the last couple of years, there has been the temptation to deem this team the City of old: the relentless, remorseless winning machine. They are not, though. City have finished a league season with 14 straight wins before. They needed to be perfect in this run-in, to win their last eight: but this is an imperfect side.

They have spent the season playing catch-up after losing twice in August. City have reeled in Arsenal before, but it is not a failsafe formula. Especially when Guardiola’s City, who used to be frontrunners in title races, have had issues when in front in games. City are far above Arsenal in one table: for points lost from winning positions. Lost leads could be decisive. Their second defeat of the season, at Brighton, came when they led for half an hour.

They have drawn eight times. There was a stalemate at Sunderland. In each of the other seven, City have lost a lead. Perhaps the most damaging was also the most forgivable: amid considerable pressure, Guardiola’s injury-hit side almost held out for victory at Arsenal in September before Gabriel Martinelli’s injury-time lob.

It made for a three-point swing. Yet City should have more regrets about allowing managerless Chelsea an added-time leveller at the Etihad in January. Or failing to beat relegation-threatened West Ham and Nottingham Forest in back-to-back games in March. Or letting Thomas Frank take his last point as Tottenham manager after City went 2-0 up.

Collectively, it points to a lack of ruthlessness. It also suggests that, defensively, City are not quite good enough. That is in spite of some spectacular saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma: briefly on Monday night, it felt like a block from Iliman Ndiaye could be bracketed alongside a magnificent stop from Alexis Mac Allister at Anfield as a transformative moment in the season.

City’s lost leads came with a host of different defences and centre-back partnerships. A mitigating factor in the draw with Chelsea was the loss of the injured Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol during the second half; when they were held by Brighton three days later, it was with the rookie Max Alleyne starting.

Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov had shown promise as a partnership but, even before Barry’s first goal on Monday, it was notable how isolated they looked. Guardiola’s latest revamp has given his team running machines as full-backs, but Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly’s forward momentum is not always allied with defensive solidity.

For the second successive season, City have had a reminder of the importance of Rodri in his absence. Their best form of the campaign, in the trio of wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in three different competitions, came with the Ballon d’Or winner partnered with Bernardo Silva in the middle of midfield. Maybe Rodri would have given them the calm and authority they lost at Everton.

There were warning signs in a couple of other games he sat out, even if City ultimately emerged victorious. They lost control in the second half at home to Leeds and away at Fulham, eventually prevailing 3-2 and 5-4 respectively. The latter, in particular, is not a typical Guardiola scoreline.

Neither is 3-3. It was Guardiola’s 376th Premier League game and just a second to end with an equal split of six goals. Everton finished with the third highest open play expected goals of any team against Guardiola’s City in the English top flight. Moyes nonetheless described City as the best team in the division. But, five months ago, his former midfielder Mikel Arteta brought Arsenal to the banks of the Mersey, ground out a forgettable 1-0 win and allowed his old club an xG of just 0.24 and one shot on target.

There has long been a theory Arsenal’s defence could win them the league. And perhaps the difference between the top two will be City’s struggles to hold on to leads.

Manchester City scored a late equaliser against Everton but defender Marc Guehi’s error proved significant with the margins in the title race with Arsenal so small

Manchester City’s stars have rallied around Marc Guehi after the England international’s error cost the Premier League title challengers against Everton. Rayan Cherki, Nathan Ake and Gianluigi Donnarumma all responded after Guehi spoke out.

The January signing produced a disappointing backpass that released Everton forward Thierno Barry to equalise in the 68th minute after Jeremy Doku had given Pep Guardiola’s side the lead. Everton won some momentum to then go 3-1 up, thanks to another striker from Barry and a goal from Jake O’Brien.

City came back to secure a late point thanks to Erling Haaland and a 97th-minute equaliser from Doku. But only sharing the spoils now means City need Arsenal to slip up in their final three matches, with five points separating the teams.

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Following the match, Guehi acknowledged that he needed to do better and was focused on an improved performance against Brentford at the weekend.

“I need to do better,” he said on Instagram. “But we keep going & focused on the next. Thank you for your support as always! Thank you Jesus!”

A wave of support followed his post with team-mate Cherki sending an emphatic reply. “You are STRONG,” he said, accompanied by two fire emojis.

Ake and Donnarumma both responded with hearts to Guehi’s words.

Thierry Henry could not understand the defender’s thought process in playing the ball back inside his own area. The former Arsenal forward believes the ex-Crystal Palace star would have been aware of Barry’s presence.

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“I don’t know why Guehi makes that pass because you know he’s offside,” he said. “It’s tough on the defence because you hold the line so well. You put him offside, you know he’s offside.

“I don’t know why Guehi here, doesn’t keep the ball and step out with it. He knows. He passes the ball. They were nervous as soon as Everton went more direct, long ball, fighting for the second ball.”

Speaking following the match, Guardiola admitted that Premier League success is now out of his team’s control.

“It depends. [The title] is not in our hands. Before that game it was, and Arsenal’s as well. But now, in our hands, no,” Guardiola said.

“We have four games in the Premier League, next is Brentford, and it will be quite similar because the competitors are good, and we will see what happens. “Of course, [we go into those games with belief], like we came here.”

Xavi Hernandez is under consideration by Chelsea to be their next manager, as they lean towards a coaching ideology already set down by the four years of the ownership so far.

The London club are undergoing what is described as a “period of self-reflection” after the debacle of the Liam Rosenior appointment and a generally disappointing season outside the FA Cup, but have naturally had to consider what next as they want everything fully in place for pre-season.

The feeling is that the club have made significant progress in instilling a football identity that is now visible in the academy right down through the age groups, and that one of the values of Enzo Maresca was that his teams typified this approach.

Chelsea consequently want to persevere with a coach of similar principles, which is how Xavi has come into a conversation that also includes Xabi Alonso, Porto’s Franceso Farioli and Cesc Fabregas. Fabregas, however, is not expected to leave Como this summer.

Andoni Iraola is also greatly admired by the football hierarchy but he is seen as of a separate school to the other contenders. Chelsea would have to weigh up whether to commit to a deviation of approach for the first time were they to push for the Basque, although they do have considerable competition for his signature.

Hence, Xavi has become a name more prominently mentioned. He has been out of work since leaving Barcelona in 2024, a three-year period that brought one league title.

While the manner in which that spell ended has brought more debate about his potential and career, there is a belief that Xavi himself has sought to learn from the period, and that part of the issues were because of his emotional attachment to his boyhood club.

The Catalan now wants a “project” that would allow more space than Spanish football usually allows.