So, City are back. But were they ever really away?

Well, they relocated to Saudi Arabia, picking up the World Club Cup after 180 minutes of two slightly-intensified training sessions against Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense.

But their form? Having won only one of their previous five EPL fixtures, they’ve now won four out of five games in all competitions.

As for the title race, they are just five points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

Had they lost to Everton, they would have been eight points adrift which is how far they were behind Arsenal at one stage last season.

And we know what happened next.

So the treble winners can now call themselves quintuple champions as they set about their day job of retaining the Premier League title.

Not a bad way to spend the darkest days of December although only in South America is the name ‘World Club Cup’ taken seriously.

Still, Pep Guardiola would have been annoyed not to add it to the one he won as part of his amazing ‘sexta’ (all six titles) at Barcelona in 2009.

And after all the warm-weather pampering, he would have been wary of the potential ambush awaiting in their first game back.

As culture shocks go, it doesn’t get more extreme.

From the desert sun to Goodison Park, hemmed in by serried ranks of Victorian terraces, a formidable maze from which there seems no escape.

It’s a bear pit at the best of times, but this is a reinvigorated Everton fighting for their lives.

And it was here in January, 2017 that Pep’s ‘Fancy Dans’ – as they were dubbed – walked straight into a 4-0 mauling in a blizzard.

As each goal went in, Pep, already looking like a disconsolate version of the Michelin Man, slunk further back in the dugout.

By the end, it resembled an igloo but he was no Abominable Snowman.

The great man ended the season trophyless but some harsh lessons were learned.

Everton have not beaten City in the league since and have regressed while City are kings of the world.

Although behind until the 53rd minute on Thursday morning, they dominated possession and deserved to win in the end.

It was one of those fixtures where Liverpool and Arsenal might have hoped for an upset and it was the eighth game in a row they’d not kept a clean sheet.

But that’s where the encouragement ended as City replied with three late goals before Pep announced that his two best players would soon be back.

Two of the goals were of the class expected of world champions and both were left-footers from opposite ends of the spectrum.

First was an equaliser of power and precision worthy of a sniper from Phil Foden and then, to seal the deal, a delicious ‘lob wedge’ from Bernardo Silva.

Those two statements of intent were followed by another.

Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne would be fit again “sometime in January” said the Catalan with a vagueness that sounded ominous.

Don’t be surprised to see one or the other ushered back into action any time soon.

Some clubs – including Liverpool and Arsenal – may look to strengthen in the January transfer window; City just look to the training ground.

Haaland, who suffered a “bone stress reaction” three weeks ago, is being monitored “day by day, week by week” while De Bruyne is already in full training after sustaining a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season.

At 32, the Belgian may require a few games to get up to speed but Haaland, 23, could be back with a bang as could De Bruyne’s compatriot, Jeremy Doku, just 21.

So, there are few weaknesses in City’s attacking machine for title aspirants although the cracks in defence have not been ironed out.

Even the magisterial Rodri, whose absences coincided with City’s winless games, was at fault for Everton’s goal and now they could be without John Stones once again.

The farcical rules conspired both for and against them at Goodison. Stones was injured making a tackle he wouldn’t have made if the linesman’s flag had been raised.

Football has been waiting for the first unnecessary injury caused by this ludicrous ruling and here it was. Stones left the ground wearing a protective boot.

The other headline incident with the rules was the penalty awarded for handball against Amadou Onana when the ball was blasted at him from 1m distance.

As Everton boss Sean Dyche said: “If he stopped that deliberately with his hand, he must be some goalkeeper.”

He added: “We had a meeting of managers and all agreed the rules are mad.”

If City’s return isn’t sobering enough for their rivals, their coming fixtures surely are.

Next up are bottom club Sheffield United at home followed by games against fast-fading Newcastle, Huddersfield (in the FA Cup), Brentford, Burnley and Everton at home.

That should ease them and their walking wounded back to their lofty perch in time for the big clashes with Liverpool and Arsenal in March.

Nope, they may have surrendered a few points, but they never went away.

What’s more, the notion that as treble winners, City didn’t have much to play for this season was as ignorant as it was premature.

No one has ever won the English league title four times in a row and Pep is a real student of history.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.