This fixture cost Manchester United a 20th league title last season, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. In hindsight, the achievement was merely delayed. Everton's return to Old Trafford represented a significant step towards another Premier League crown as United capitalised on Manchester City's fitful defence to open up a 12-point lead at the summit with 12 matches to go. They are too ruthless, too consistent, to give their neighbours hope now.
Ryan Giggs and Robin Van Persie scored the first-half goals that extended United's advantage and gave the watching José Mourinho plenty to ponder ahead of their Champions League visit to Real Madrid on Wednesday. Everton's weak display never offered Roberto Mancini encouragement of their recovery from two goals down to draw 4-4 last term.
City's defeat at Southampton was not the cue for United to ease up against Everton with Madrid in mind. Quite the opposite. Everything about the league leaders' approach was about getting the job done. From Ferguson's team selection, which unsurprisingly proved the opposite of what he had claimed on Friday with only the likes of Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Young rested, to the home side's frenetic start, the scars of last season's slip were evident. Ferguson was not about to let another slip by the reigning champions escape unpunished.
United dominated from the opening whistle, with Phil Jones's limpet-like marking of Marouane Fellaini underlining their refusal to allow Everton any time to settle on the ball. Fellaini had been instrumental in Everton's 4-4 draw here last season and victory at Goodison Park at the start of the season but he and his team-mates were hassled each time they touched the ball. The visitors were behind before they were able to find any rhythm.
Van Persie should have opened the scoring with only ten minutes gone when Wayne Rooney was left unchallenged to pierce the Everton defence. Phil Neville's attempted offside trap malfunctioned, allowing Van Persie to round Tim Howard and bring Old Trafford to its feet in anticipation of his 23rd goal of the season. Astonishingly, however, the Dutch striker struck the outside of the post with his weaker right foot. Neville would later repeat his error. Van Persie would not.
Everton's preparations had been disrupted by the late withdrawal of Sylvain Distin through illness. That meant an unexpected reprieve for John Heitinga, who was at fault for all three Aston Villa goals at Goodison last Saturday – his worst display in an Everton shirt, he later confessed – and West Bromwich Albion's consolation before that. The recall brought another costly mistake. Antonio Valencia outjumped Leighton Baines to Rafael's long ball and Heitinga completely misread the bounce to leave Van Persie goal-side. The United forward had time to shoot but unselfishly squared to Giggs, who rolled the ball in off Howard's post with his right foot.
Giggs made his United debut against Everton on 2 March 1991, a moment captured in the match-day programme with a photograph of the precocious winger standing in front of Dave Watson. Here, almost 22 years later, the remarkable 39-year-old picked a fitting opponent to score his first goal of the season and thus maintain his record of scoring for United for 23 consecutive seasons.
Everton belatedly showed some belief and composure on the ball following Giggs's goal. Leon Osman forced David de Gea into his first save of the game with a volley from 20 yards and Nemanja Vidic made an important block from Kevin Mirallas as the visitors' Belgian contingent began to impose themselves. They rarely threatened an equaliser, however, and United added the cushion of a second goal on the stroke of half-time when Rafael sent Van Persie clear of Neville's offside appeal. Again the striker went around the Everton goalkeeper's left and this time, despite Heitinga's best efforts on the line, he finished convincingly.
As Ferguson had vowed, there was to be no repeat of last season's collapse from a two-goal lead. With City's hold on the Premier League trophy fumbling, United's grip tightened.
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