Manchester City's frailties were exposed Saturday when Everton staged a stirring comeback to win 2-1, but the club still remains on the verge of qualifying for the Champions League.
After fifth-place Tottenham was held 1-1 by Blackpool on Saturday, City will be guaranteed to finish in the top four by beating the London club on Tuesday.
City led through Yaya Toure's 28th-minute strike at Goodison Park, but second-half headers in the space of seven minutes from Sylvain Distin and Leon Osman sank the visitors.
''It was incredible we lost this game,'' City manager Roberto Mancini said. ''We dominated in the first half and had four or five chances to score.
''But this is football. If you lose concentration, if you concede a yard to the other team, it is difficult. A game like today we should never lose. If we want to become a strong team, we cannot lose this game.''
Next Saturday, City can end its 35-year trophy drought by beating Stoke in the FA Cup final.
Everton manager David Moyes was pleased with the way seventh-place Everton turned the game around against a powerful City side.
''The team Man City had could probably play in the NBA,'' Moyes said. ''It was like the New York Knicks, with the size of them. It was really difficult to match them. It was a case of everybody manning the pumps to get us through the last five or six minutes.''
