Manchester United 1 Everton 1:  Manchester United are, for the record, 12 points behind Premiership leaders Chelsea, but it will soon be time to stop keeping count.

The side are spoken of as challengers only as a mark of respect for what they once were. Everton, with their confidence re-established, were far too able to let Alex Ferguson's team kid themselves that they control their destiny any longer.

The pattern is so obvious as to be lurid. United, just as they had in the defeat by Benfica in Lisbon, had some shining touches before the interval, only to lapse into dull, blunt effort in the second half.

All United currently wish for is the traditional rout that the home crowd once watched in a state of complacent pride in their squad. When the pressure was applied in this absorbing fixture, however, it smacked of desperation more than gusto.

Alan Smith, for instance, was booked after a few fouls and had to be replaced by Darren Fletcher when he could not stop himself from committing more offences. Referee Rob Styles's card finger must have started to itch.

Everton made sure United had no easy means of scraping their morale off the floor, from where it lay in Portugal last Wednesday.

Departure from the Champions League as the bottom team, behind Lille, in their group was a landmark failure, but United have been dwindling for years. They have a sprinkling of exceptional talents even now, but most of them are too old to sustain their influence over an entire match.

While the sheer beauty of Paul Scholes' accomplishment here put him above everyone else on the field, the influence was not sustained. Ryan Giggs's display followed that same arc. The Welshman (32) and the Englishman (31) have been roving and probing for many years. Although they can still run, the elan fades earlier than it once did.

United could have won if Styles had detected the faint touch of David Weir on Louis Saha after 77 minutes, but the United of days gone by would have persisted until Everton were broken. As it is, the previous weekend's 3-0 stroll past Portsmouth was the only time this season when United have scored more than one goal at home in the Premiership.

They are released on Wednesday for their game in hand over Chelsea, but Wigan will not be fearful. It may be a long time before opponents are intimidated as they once were.

"The disappointment was that we didn't show a little more to go on and win it," said Everton manager David Moyes. That was not bravado, even if he conceded that his side eventually needed five in midfield as a barricade.

Edwin van der Sar miskicked to Leon Osman in the fourth minute and Everton would have gone ahead if Mikael Silvestre had not blocked James Beattie's shot. Three minutes later Everton did score.

Kevin Kilbane's angled run sucked United players, including right back Gary Neville, into the middle, and, when the ball ran free, Osman snapped play into space on the open flank. James McFadden scored with a strong finish from a tight angle. Van der Sar had left a gap at his near post that he could not block.

The poise of United's players was better maintained for a period, and the virtuosity of Scholes had them level after 15 minutes. The midfielder sent a pass of some 30 yards behind Joseph Yobo with the back-spin that made the ball wait obediently for Giggs. The winger scarcely broke stride as he finished fluently with a first-touch shot beyond Richard Wright.

The goalkeeper had not started a Premiership game this season because of the form of the now injured Nigel Martyn, but he walked away last night with his reputation on a higher plane than it has been since he left Ipswich for Arsenal four years ago.

He made a good save from a Wayne Rooney shot that deflected off Phil Neville, and also got to a Giggs free-kick late in the day. With Phil Neville outstanding, however, as he shut off the route down the middle, United's limitations were exposed.

Everton ought to have had a second goal, particularly after a mistake by Scholes let them break in the 65th minute. Simon Davies sent McFadden clear but the shot rose to make it simpler for van der Sar to block.