Barton, Lineker & more: Twitter reacts as Everton & Man City falter

QPR midfielder Joey Barton Photo: Joey Barton/Twitter

Manchester City suffered a big blow in their bid to win the Premier League title after a 2-2 draw with bottom club Sunderland at The Etihad.

Meanwhile, top-four chasing Everton failed to leapfrog Arsenal after a shock 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, the two shocks in the Premier League prompted a flurry of Twitter reaction from the professionals, with the best tweets listed in chronological order below.

QPR midfielder Joey Barton (‏@Joey7Barton) is expecting big finishes at Goodison Park and The Etihad: “Everton and City need a huge finish to these games tonight.”

On-loan Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran ‏(@JMcEachran20) is thrilled for his England Under-21 team-mate: “Yesss lad!!! @ConnorWickham10”

Former Liverpool defender Rob Jones (‏@RobjonesLFC2) is also celebrating as Wickham finds the back of the net: “Get innnnnn Sunderland!!!!!”

Ex-Sunderland midfielder Alex Rae (‏@alexrae1969) describes Vito Mannone’s mistake: “Omg the Sunderland keeper has had a nightmare 2-2 now.”

On-loan Everton defender Shane Duffy (‏@ShaneDuffy34) is clearly disappointed with the loss to Crystal Palace: “Gutted !! #EFC”

However, ex-Palace star Mark Bright (‏@Mark__Bright) hails the soaring Eagles’s form: “Get in….. 4 wins in a row including two teams from top 5… #cpfc #40pts”

England legend Gary Lineker (‏@GaryLineker) sums up the Premier League: “Only in the Premier League could the team at the very bottom, possibly scupper a team’s title aspirations.”

Ex-Liverpool midfielder David Thompson ‏(@77thomo) wonders how bad Ian Holloway must be as manager given Palace’s turnaround under Tony Pulis: “What happened to Everton tonight? Palace where dead and buried under Holloway just highlights how bad a manager he is top blagger him and there’s a few more like him.”

Everton legend Peter Reid ‏(@reid6peter) is sporting enough to praise Tony Pulis: “Oh no Everton. Had a feeling it would be a tough game, TP great job.”

Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot (‏@MarioMelchiot) has 27 April circled in his diary: “Is #Everton running out of steam? And is #mancity throwing away their title dreams? #LFC vs #CFC could be the game to watch! #mmlove #BPL”