'It's not a target for us' - Manuel Akanji gives up on Manchester City winning Premier League title after 1-1 draw with Everton

Manchester City have been struggling to find their feet in their hunt for their fifth-straight Premier League title. Pep Guardiola’s side have dropped down to seventh place after their 1-1 draw with Everton after Bernardo Silva’s opener was cancelled out by Ilman Ndiaye’s 36th minute strike.

The defending Premier League champions are now 11 points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand. As such, Akanji has now ceded that Manchester City are no longer challenging for the title this season.

When asked by BBC whether the Premier League title was still a possibility, Akanji responded: "The season is not finished but it's not a target for us at the moment. We need to focus game by game and the next game against Leicester City will not be easy as well now, in the shape we are in. "We need to focus on the positives. We did a lot of things great. We defended well and we attacked well, but were not able to finish as well as we wanted to or we could have scored three or four goals."

The two clashes before the end of the calendar year against Everton and Leicester City were supposed to be Manchester City’s shot at regaining form, however, the defending champions’ draw with the Toffees has all but thrown them out of contention for the Premier League title. They will be in action for the last time in 2024 when they face the Foxes on December 29.