Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini hailed his side's character as they recovered from a drubbing against Bayern Munich to defeat Everton.
The Toffees went into the clash as the only unbeaten side in the Barclays Premier League but left the Etihad Stadium on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline.
It was the same score by which City lost to Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday in a match where they were completely outplayed.
Coming on the back of a league defeat by Aston Villa, it made victory in Saturday's clash very important for Pellegrini's side.
The Chilean said: "I was very pleased for a lot of things. We played the only unbeaten team in the Premier League and a team that plays very well with the ball so it was not an easy game.
"What happened last Wednesday always has a consequence physically and mentally on the team so that's why I am very pleased with the character the team showed."
It was a good performance from City, who went behind to Romelu Lukaku's goal but created a lot of good chances and scored three times through Alvaro Negredo, Sergio Aguero and a Tim Howard own goal.
Negredo was named man of the match but David Silva was a key presence in midfield, with the Spaniard setting up Aguero for City's second.
It was Silva's first start for more than a month after recovering from a thigh injury.
Pellegrini said: "David Silva is a very important player. He has quality, he played very, very well. I wasn't sure if he could play the 90 minutes."
Source: PA
