After collecting draws from meetings with Manchester United and Chelsea, Everton claimed City's scalp at Eastlands on Monday night. Perhaps it was not so much of a surprise given it was the Toffeemen's fourth win on the trot at City - but now Moyes wants his players to transfer that form into less eye-catching fixtures. "We can compete at the top end but we haven't been able to compete at the bottom," he said. "We haven't been able to beat the teams below us, especially at Goodison. "But when it's come to the bigger games we seem to respond to the challenge and we are a match for a lot of teams." A very satisfying evening was set up by early goals from Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines. The second-half dismissal of Victor Anichebe did threaten to derail Everton as City pulled a goal back through Yaya Toure's deflected effort. But the visitors remained strong and ended a seven-match run without a victory. "The resilience and competitiveness of the team were excellent," said Moyes. "When we went down to 10 men I thought the evening was going to become even longer but we did a great job. "They were resilient and stuck to their task. It was the art of defending; blocking shots, getting in the way of things. And the goalkeeper did well, making some terrific saves." Moyes will now hope for better in the bread and butter fixtures for a team that has now taken points off both Manchester clubs and Chelsea this season. However, he must hope for good news on the injury front after Jagielka limped off with a thigh problem. "He was struggling all week with it and was a doubt before the game," said Moyes. "But he played his part in getting us through most of it." Roberto Mancini admitted Carlos Tevez's decision to rip up his transfer request was the only bit of good news to emerge from a disappointing night for City. Knowing victory would secure top spot on Christmas Day for the first time since 1929, City blew their chance, losing at home to Everton for the fourth year on the trot. It added a rather hollow tinge to confirmation that Tevez will remain at Eastlands following talks with chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak. "It was important news but it was the only good news from this evening," reflected Mancini. "It is very important for everyone; the club, the squad, for him. The situation has been cleared up and everything has gone in a good way. "It was important that we stopped talking about this situation. We are happy about that." City's evening quickly turned sour, though, as they conceded twice in the opening 20 minutes. The first was a major mistake on Vincent Kompany's part as he left Cahill completely on his own to turn home Seamus Coleman's cross. Everton then profited from the departure of Pablo Zabaleta for treatment to a head wound, exploiting their man advantage down the same side of the pitch as Leighton Baines finished off an excellent second. City pounded their opponents after that but even after Anichebe had been sent off, they were unable to do any more than score once. And the hosts' evening took a further turn for the worse by the end as Mario Balotelli limped off and Kolo Toure was dismissed for two yellow-card offences in stoppage time. "The sending-off was fair," grumbled Mancini. "But we are frustrated. We lost the game in the first 10 minutes. "We had a big chance to go top after 81 years. It was a fantastic thing. But now we must restart. "The season is long but we must understand that we cannot sleep when we play." Mancini was particularly annoyed with the length of time Zabaleta was off the pitch receiving treatment following a clash of heads with Cahill. "It is impossible for one player to spend eight minutes in the dressing room," said Mancini. "He should have been back more quickly or we should change the player. I thought he would have been back after one or two minutes."
