United strike late and often

Manchester United - 3 Everton - 0 Manchester United left it late before reducing the gap behind Arsenal to six points here last night and Alex Ferguson will want to remember the last five minutes rather than the 85 that came before.

Only five minutes were remaining when Paul Scholes put United ahead against a tenacious Everton side that had seemed destined to get a rare point at Old Trafford.

David Weir was sent off for a tug on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored the resultant penalty, before Scholes added the final flourish with a marvellous strike in stoppage time.

Ferguson, that vociferous protector of his own, continues to be riled by the unflattering comparisons with Arsene Wenger's side, but he should not be surprised. While Arsenal have nurtured a talent for demolishing opponents with their slick passing and perceptive movement, United's dips in and out of form have failed to dispel the suspicion they are lacking the fluidity that epitomised Ferguson's teams during their most autocratic days.

This was another unconvincing start against a side that United have beaten with more regularity over recent seasons than any other club in the Premiership.

As if sensing that their heroes needed cajoling, Old Trafford responded impressively. Unlike on so many other occasions Manchester United's fans actually worked themselves into a frenzy.

The acoustics have not sounded so good for a long time, but if the Mancunian orchestra was intended to galvanise Ferguson's players the ploy had only limited success.

United began with a good pace and tempo but little penetration, floundering against an Everton side light on talent but heavy on toil.

Thomas Gravesen, Lee Carsley and Li Tie could scarcely have worked any harder in midfield and that, complemented by some determined defending, restricted their hosts to only two meaningful chances throughout the first half.

On both occasions the home side were let down by their finishing. David Beckham failed to get a clean connection on his shot after latching on to Nicky Butt's intuitive pass and Ruud van Nistelrooy, deemed fit again after his hamstring injury, ended a menacing charge with a diagonal shot over the crossbar.

That apart, however, the gulf in status was seldom evident and the sight of Gary Neville remonstrating with Beckham shortly before the interval summed up the growing sense of exasperation.

By the start of the second half the United fans had reverted to type and, in fairness, there was little to get animated about, for all the intelligent promptings of Juan Sebastian Veron.

Ryan Giggs seldom moved into full throttle, Beckham was as willing as ever on the right but with little to show for it, while Scholes never imposed the same influence on the game as he had against Olympiakos here last week.

For that, the visiting defenders deserve the highest praise, Joseph Yobo and Weir in particular. Their stifling tactics did not make for a good spectacle - Fabien Barthez was a virtual spectator in goal - but Everton's record of 16 defeats in their previous 20 league matches against United dictated that it was a sensible policy and Moyes, on his first managerial expedition to Old Trafford, should not be criticised for making use of his assets in the best way.

Solskjaer, a second-half substitute, should have punished Everton for one lapse in concentration just after the hour and, shortly afterwards, van Nistelrooy increased the decibel levels once again, squandering an easy chance from just six yards.

Old Trafford echoed to the sound of 60,000 jaws dropping, followed by a united chorus of disbelieving groans.

There was also time for Beckham to rouse the crowd once again, floating a chipped shot on to the top of Richard Wright's crossbar.

Everton almost broke the stalemate themselves when a mazy run by highly-regarded 16-year-old Wayne Rooney ended with a save from Barthez.

Then Scholes intervened to finally break the deadlock, scoring with a low shot after Beckham's cross had been turned back by Giggs. It was tough on Everton but there was even more soul-searching to come. Weir could not argue with the referee Mike Riley's decision for van Nistelrooy's penalty, but even that would have been flattering for the home side without Scholes rounding things off with a handsome shot from 25 yards.

MAN UTD: Barthez, Gary Neville, Blanc, O'Shea, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron (Solskjaer 63), Butt (Forlan 85), Giggs, van Nistelrooy (Phil Neville 90), Scholes. Subs Not Used: Ricardo, Fortune. Goals: Scholes 86, van Nistelrooy 90 pen, Scholes 90.

EVERTON: Wright, Hibbert, Weir, Yobo, Unsworth, Carsley, Tie Li, Gravesen, Pembridge, Campbell, Radzinski (Rooney 74). Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Naysmith, Weifeng Li, Ferguson. Sent Off: Weir (90). Booked: Unsworth, Gravesen.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).