City’s second win in seven league matches was sufficient to bring them closer to second-placed Arsenal and current leaders Liverpool.
The newly-crowned Club World Cup winners quickly got back into gear to recover from going behind to former winger Jack Harrison’s first-half goal to find the back of the net twice after the break through a jaw-dropping beauty of a shot from Phil Foden and a Julian Alvarez penalty thereafter.
Towards the later part of the match Bernardo Silva curled home his stunner into an empty net to leave Everton hovering a point above the relegation zone.
However, the loss of John Stones, making only his fifth Premier League start this season due to injury, and an eighth successive Premier League game without a clean sheet were less welcome.
City returned from their glorious victory in Saudi Arabia with the awareness that winning their two games in hand would leave them just a couple of points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side at the summit after the Reds drew with the Gunners.
Without Erling Haaland for a sixth successive game, Pep Guardiola’s side had begun to look a lot less menacing after the kick-off.
The home side drew first blood when Dwight McNeil laid on his third assist in five games as Harrison side-footed home from close range and the former City winger – who had never made it into the first XI – almost scored a spectacular second goal, forcing Ederson into a full stretch to tip over Harrison’s swerving left-footed effort.
All City needed were just 19 minutes after the break to turn the entire scenario around with Foden left unguarded and given ample opportunity and space on the edge of the area from a corner to catch Pickford totally dumbfounded.
Bernardo Silva then fully extended the goalkeeper with a gem of a free-kick before Alvarez’ VAR-gifted penalty shot slotted them ahead when Nathan Ake’s shot hit Amadou Onana’s arm as he slid in to block.
Referee John Brooks had originally awarded a corner before quickly changing his mind and pointing to the spot, with Alvarez’s blast down the middle proving too powerful to block as it went underneath the diving England national goalkeeper’s legs.