Roberto Mancini tasted defeat for the first time as his City side were soundly beaten at Goodison Park.
First half goals from Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha proved enough for the home side as City dropped down into fifth place in the league after Spurs drew 0-0 at home to Hull.
Just three minutes into the game and the blues were forced into a substitution when Roque Santa Cruz was pulled up sharply and was replaced by Robinho, who then wasted the best early chance by blazing a volley over the bar from just ten yards out.
After an early spell of dominance, City allowed Everton to come at them and it was no surprise when Pienaar gave the home side the lead. Pablo Zabaleta fouled Saha and from the resulting free-kick, the South African curled the ball around the wall and beyond Shay Given to give The Toffees a deserved lead.
Craig Bellamy should have levelled just before half-time before Saha added a second. Micah Richards was judged to have tugged the former United striker’s shirt and Saha stepped up to coolly slot past Given and secure the points.
Roberto Mancini took off Martin Petrov at half-time, replacing him with Benjani in order to provide support for Carlos Tevez, before sending on Shaun Wright Phillips in the 62nd minute for the ineffective Robinho.
It was to no avail and Everton could have had more but for Given, who tipped Marouane Fellaini’s header onto the post before Tim Cahill rattled the crossbar as City tried to keep the scoreline down.
In the end, David Moyes and Everton gained some degree of revenge for City’s relentless summer pursuit of Joleon Lescott, a subject that Moyes clearly hasn’t forgiven the blues for when he used his programme notes to accuse City of acting with ‘no class.’
So a third defeat of the season for City and Mancini will be looking for a huge improvement when his team take to the field on Tuesday night when United visit Eastlands for the League Cup semi-final 1st leg clash.
Final Score: Everton 2-0 City
Attendance – 37,378