Leon Osman tapped in Everton's fourth from close range after Johnny Heitinga's free-kick came off the wall.
Everton, whose lengthy injury list looks likely to grow after Johnny Heitinga limped off, had looked more likely to extend their lead than be pegged back.
Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka marshalled Everton's defensive unit superbly throughout, pressing and closing City's forwards, while Johnny Heitinga was effective in breaking down the supply line.
Johnny Heitinga's driven pass was taken down superbly by Guerrero Antonio Lopez, who then picked out Maxi for an emphatic finish after his first touch took him past Jamie Carragher.
It meant an entire team was unavailable - nine out injured and two Cup-tied in Johnny Heitinga and Lucas Neill - so Moyes had a threadbare, inexperienced squad at his disposal.
Everton boss David Moyes, who fielded new signings Distin and Russia winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, later revealed the club have agreed a fee with Spanish side Atletico Madrid for defender Johnny Heitinga.
With Johnny Heitinga cup-tied and Sylvain Distin suspended, Everton had a new central defensive partnership in Yobo and Philippe Senderos - and the latter was very harshly penalised for a foul on Yannick Djalo.
Everton belatedly showed the passion their play had been missing in the second half and they were rewarded when Zayatte swung at a Johnny Heitinga cross only to slice the ball into his own net.
Van Persie doubled the lead at the end of the first half, beating the offside trap and rounding keeper Tim Howard before sliding in a shot that Everton defender Johnny Heitinga could only help into the net.
However, Euro 2008 champions Spain, who conceded only two goals during the tournament, deserved their victory after gradually taking a grip on a tense and bad-tempered contest that produced 14 yellow cards with Johnny Heitinga sent off on 109 minutes after picking up a second yellow card.
应用推荐