Everton were hit by a first-half Manchester City blitz to go down to only a second Goodison Park defeat in 11 matches.
Pep Guardiola’s City, who require just one more victory to wrap up their third Premier League title in seven seasons, led after four minutes when Leroy Sane thundered a volley into the Park End net.
Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus headed in eight minutes later and – after Leighton Baines sent a free-kick flashing narrowly past the post – Raheem Sterling stretched his side’s lead eight minutes before the break.
Yannick Bolasie’s low 20-yard drive on 63 minutes – his first Goodison goal – cut the Toffees’ deficit but, despite Cenk Tosun coming close shortly afterwards, the hosts could not mount an unlikely comeback.
Sane had already been causing bother for Everton down City’s left flank – drilling in a cross which forced Michael Keane to divert behind – when he blasted his team in front.
David Silva was the architect of his side’s breakthrough goal, the Spaniard drifting into the Toffees’ box via an exchange of passes with defender Aymeric Laporte. Silva’s first touch stood the ball up at the byline, his second was a precise lifted delivery to the back post.
Sane, popping up on the right, met the ball flush, crashing his finish inside the near post and beyond Jordan Pickford, who didn’t stand a chance.
The game’s first scorer had a large hand in his team’s second strike, too.
But not before Everton had come agonisingly close to hauling themselves level.
Phil Jagielka nodded wide from a Wayne Rooney free-kick but it was Bolasie who was subsequently presented with the golden opportunity to equalise.
The wideman’s run in off his flank and into the heart of the box was excellent but he could not adorn his intelligent movement with a finish to match when Dominic Calvert-Lewin supplied the delivery from the right.
Bolasie sent his headed effort travelling a foot over the bar - then had to watch on as City raced to the other end and doubled their advantage.
Germany international Sane received possession from goalkeeper Ederson and expertly manipulated the ball in the middle of the park, then released Kevin De Bruyne down the right. The Belgian promptly steered a cross into the middle and onto the head of Jesus, who emphatically powered home.
Silva weaved into the box and fired into the side netting, while Sterling was a yard off target from distance as City sought to turn the screw.
Kyle Walker, galloping forward from his right-back berth, dragged a shot wide from Sane’s cutback and centre-back Nicolas Otamendi’s low strike following De Bruyne’s right-wing corner flashed past the near post.
For all City looked every inch the Champions elect they are, their movement busy and incisive, the passing crisp and progressive, Everton had enough threat on the counter to intermittently put the wind up the away team.
Laporte felt he had no option but to scythe down Theo Walcott at the edge of the box, the French defender booked for his challenge but a relieved man when Baines whipped his free-kick an inch past Ederson’s left-hand post.
Jagielka made a vital interception to prevent a raiding De Bruyne from squaring after bursting into the box with the ball at his feet.
And Seamus Coleman put his body on the line to get in the way of a ferocious drive from Laporte, an off-balance Sterling lashing wildly high on the follow up.
England international Sterling’s next effort was rather more menacing and needed a vital touch from the fast-closing Jagielka to deflect over – after the forward was sent scurrying through the middle by Jesus’ slick back heel.
Sterling was soon careering forwards again, this time swatting a pass left for Silva when he alighted at the 18-yard line.
Silva took aim but his radar was off, the attacker sending the ball skipping across goal and past the far post.
Ederson plucked a deep Bolasie cross from underneath his crossbar after the Toffees winger had linked neatly with Baines on the left flank.
But City were swiftly back on the offensive. Silva sprung Everton’s offside trap to latch onto Fernandinho’s pass down the left and slipped the ball across for Sterling, stealing a march on Baines to stretch and nudge home from close range.
Morgan Schneiderlin – back in Everton’s midfield in place of the hamstrung Idrissa Gana Gueue – then completed a magnificent recovery tackle to prevent Silva from getting on the end of a return ball from Sterling in the Toffees’ box.
Laporte was perhaps lucky to escape a second yellow card when he was late into a tackle on a furious Pickford shortly before half-time, referee Paul Tierney seemingly judging the City player’s contact with Everton’s goalkeeper to be accidental.
Last-man Baines made a vital interception on halfway to prevent Jesus from having an open pitch to sprint into as City tried to break from an Everton corner four minutes after the restart – and the away side, regardless of being three goals to the good, were showing no inclination to ease off the gas.
Baines was smartly positioned to stop Fernandinho getting a shot away from 10 yards following more intricate City passing, and the same defender blocked a goalbound effort from Silva after Walker chased a ball down the right and picked out his teammate with a precise pass.
Tom Davies replaced Rooney on 56 minutes, moments after Pickford displayed wonderful reactions to readjust and plunge to his left to shovel Fernandinho’s heavily-deflected 25-yard strike round the post.
And that save counted for even more when Bolasie found a way through the City rearguard.
Substitute Davies was heavily involved, moving the ball to Calvert-Lewin, who skilfully let the ball run across his body at the fringe of the City box and helped it on to Bolasie. He steadied himself and, with minimal backlift – perhaps surprising Ederson with his early strike – drove the ball home off the inside of the goalkeeper’s right-hand post.
Three minutes later – and with Goodison clearing its collective throat to get behind its revitalised team – Tosun met Baines’ sweetly-hit corner at the back post but could only plant his header marginally wide.
City midfielder Fernandinho’s dipping 74th-minute drive skimmed the roof of the net but Pep Guardiola’s team were largely content to rein in their attacking instincts for the final quarter hour, so as not to give Everton any further encouragement in their recovery bid – even if the supremely confident Sane was nearly caught out attempting to dribble out of his own box as the game entered stoppage time.
This, however, was a contest ultimately decided in the space of 33 first-half minutes, when City, in truth, did what they have been doing all season.
Evertonian attentions swiftly turn to an all-Merseyside skirmish with Liverpool in seven days’ time.
Everton FC