Far from vintage United stay top

SOCCER/Manchester Utd 3, Everton 0:As Manchester United are sitting defiantly at the top of the Premiership and the bad news for Chelsea is that it will almost certainly get worse before it can get any better.

Alex Ferguson's team never touched their most exhilarating heights, perhaps unsurprisingly given his audacious team selection, but they were still too strong for a willing but limited Everton side and, mission accomplished, they now have the prospect of going nine points clear by the time Chelsea next play.

The most tantalising thought for Ferguson as he reflected on this laboured victory was that United have two matches, at Middlesbrough on Saturday and at home to Manchester City a week later, before Chelsea resume Premiership duties against Arsenal on December 10th.

Mindful that Everton were missing several key players, Ferguson had taken a calculated gamble by making five changes himself from his team that drew with Chelsea on Sunday. Louis Saha, Paul Scholes and Gabriel Heinze dropped to the bench and there was no place at all for Nemanja Vidic and Ryan Giggs.

Manchester being the City of Gossip, there were immediate rumours that there had been a disagreement between Ferguson and Giggs after the Chelsea game. The official word, however, was that the Wales forward, on his 33rd birthday, had been excused with a calf strain.

The question was whether Ferguson had gambled too heavily. The United manager was entitled to believe he could make alterations against an Everton side deprived of their first-choice goalkeeper, Tim Howard, and their two most reliable scorers in Andrew Johnson and Tim Cahill but there was still an element of surprise that he had made wholesale changes.

Replacing Giggs with Kieran Richardson is the equivalent of using a painter and decorator instead of a Turner-winning artist, John O'Shea has none of the invention and guile of Scholes, and Darren Fletcher is not a right-winger to inspire trepidation in the fashion of Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was the sort of team sheet the Everton manager, David Moyes, might have pinned to the dressing-room wall as a form of motivation.

Ferguson's argument was that he had to freshen up his side, yet for long spells it seemed to encourage the opposition. Everton were strong in the tackle, quick to the ball and pleasingly ambitious when in possession.

Phil Neville was outstanding on his return to Old Trafford and the men in blue had created more attacking opportunities than might have been anticipated before Ronaldo's goal soothed the crowd's nerves.

This was the first time that Ronaldo had played alongside Wayne Rooney in attack and Ferguson clearly feels emboldened by the manner in which the winger has improved his finishing.

Richardson instigated the attack, playing the ball to Michael Carrick, who tried to beat Richard Wright from 25 yards. Instead his shot cannoned off Fletcher and the ball spun into Ronaldo's path just outside the penalty area.

Wright was out of position, having sprawled across his line with the intention of cutting out Carrick's effort, and Ronaldo fizzed his shot into the opposite corner.

In truth Ronaldo and Rooney did not look the dynamic partnership that Ferguson had hoped for. Rooney, in particular, had a stodgy night against his former club, so much so that the Everton supporters eventually grew tired of barracking him - until, that is, he started kissing his shirt in front of the away end.

Ronaldo flickered sporadically but this was far from a vintage United performance and there were times when the carelessness seemed contagious. Carrick, usually such a careful passer, could be seen putting the ball out for an Everton throw-in. When Fletcher did the same, 10 minutes into the second half, there was voluble dissent.

Moyes will reflect on the opportunity, after 18 minutes, when James McFadden screwed a left-foot shot wide of Edwin van der Sar's goal. Without Johnson, however, the Everton attack was as toothless as their fans must have feared. James Beattie has not scored from open play since March and, with Cahill also out injured, Everton plugged away in hope rather than expectation.

Even with so many players missing, United's attack had a far more clinical edge and, just after the hour, they struck again. Rooney played in the overlapping Patrice Evra behind Joseph Yobo. The Frenchman advanced on goal and drove a powerful shot beneath Wright for his first United goal.

It was the signal for Ferguson to make changes and rest players with the game apparently won, particularly Ronaldo, who was replaced by Heinze. United, however, were flattered by O'Shea's late goal, a subtle flick from Evra's cross.

But the sight of Rio Ferdinand limping towards the tunnel after the final whistle, coupled with the knowledge Wes Brown and Evra had finished the game in midfield, will do little to dispel genuine fears about United's ability to keep their noses in front of Chelsea until next spring.

MANCHESTER UTD:Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick (Brown 73), O'Shea, Richardson, Rooney, Ronaldo (Heinze 68). Subs not used: Kuszczak, Saha, Scholes. Booked: Evra.

EVERTON:Wright, Yobo, Stubbs, Lescott, Nuno Valente, Arteta, Neville, Carsley, Osman (Vaughan 76), Beattie, McFadden. Subs not used: Ruddy, Weir, Van der Meyde, Anichebe. Booked: Arteta.

Referee:M Halsey (Lancashire).