Here’s how an absorbing game panned out at the Etihad...
What happened?
City totally bossed the opening period with some silky, easy-on-the-eye football that was both fluid and stoic.
The speed the Blues hunted down the ball on the odd occasion possession was lost and the approach play was, at times, a pleasure to watch.
At the heart of everything were David Silva and De Bruyne with the promise of an effective partnership down the right flank between Sane and De Bruyne.
If there was one failing, it was the final ball into the Everton box which too often found the boot of a Toffees defender, though the visitors were defending in numbers in an attempt to suffocate the City probing.
Just before the break it looked as though the Blues had their breakthrough when Silva wriggled past a challenge inside the area and was felled by the flailing leg of Phil Jagielka giving referee Michael Oliver and easy decision.
With Sergio Aguero on the bench, De Bruyne stepped up to take the penalty but his shot was pushed wide by Maarten Stekelenburg with 43 minutes on the clock.
Five minutes after the re-start Claudio Bravo was called into action for the first time as Gerard Deulofeu cut inside and hit a curling drive that the Chilean beat out with a one-handed stop. It was a timely reminder that the visitors had potency and speed up front when needed.
And with attack after attack ending in frustration, it was ironic that Everton should be the team who finally broke the deadlock with Romelu Lukaku finding space behind City’s midfield, driving towards goal and past the challenge of Clichy before firing a low drive past Bravo with 64 minutes played.
Five minutes later and City were again handed a golden opportunity to level the scores when Jagielka again conceded a penalty with a rash challenge on sub Aguero in the box - but again Stekelenburg guessed right and saved the spot-kick.
Was it going to be one of those days? It seemed so.
But City kept believing and Aguero almost levelled a minute later only to be denied by another great save by the Everton keeper - the next attack, however, saw the Blues finally find the back of the net as Silva’s cross found the head of Nolito who planted the ball home.
The relief was palpable - but could City now go and win it?
With nine minutes to go, another incredible stop by Stekelenburg as De Bruyne launched a howitzer of a shot towards the top right-hand corner only for the Toffees’ keeper to somehow get a fingertip onto the ball and divert it onto the post - a breathtaking save.
The Blues kept knocking on the door but couldn’t find the winner that their overall performance merited.
Key moment
There were so many - and they all involved Maarten Stekelenburg - but his save from De Bruyne on 81 minutes world class and denied the Blues a deserved victory.
Man of the match: David Silva
Masterful performance by the City skipper who created the goal, won a penalty and was at the peak of his powers throughout with a magical 90 minutes. Back to his very best, El Mago is a joy to watch.
