Everton brought Manchester City's march towards the Champions League to an abrupt halt with a stirring comeback at Goodison Park.
Yaya Toure's first-half goal appeared to set City on course for a win that would have virtually guaranteed a place in the top four as they exerted total domination over the Toffees.
But the Merseysiders turned the game on its head in a fiercely-contested second half that concluded with manager David Moyes making it seven wins in his last eight Premier League games against City.
Former City defender Sylvain Distin headed Everton's equaliser from Mikel Arteta's free-kick after 65 minutes with goalkeeper Joe Hart at fault - and as Roberto Mancini's men rocked under increasing pressure, Leon Osman rose spectacularly to beat City captain Vincent Kompany and head the winner seven minutes later.
Mancini lost his cool on several occasions in the closing stages, undoubtedly angry at his team's failure to cash in on their previous superiority which brought missed chances from Patrick Vieira and Edin Dzeko.
Everton, however, deserve huge credit for the manner in which they recovered from a dispiriting first half to extend their strangehold on City in recent seasons.
Frustrations threatened to get out of hand after the final whistle, with Everton captain Phil Neville held back by referee Phil Dowd, who was also in heated discussion with City coach Brian Kidd as tempers boiled over.
This piece first appeared on bbc.co.uk
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