Title now United’s to throw away as they go 12 points clear of City

Even with Jose Mourinho watching on, Real Madrid seemed to be the last thing on United minds as Ryan Giggs and Robin van Persie scored the first-half goals that were enough to see off a dogged Everton. Giggs has now scored in a remarkable 23 successive league seasons, yet another milestone in an unparalleled career. For Van Persie, it was the 23rd goal of a sensational debut campaign. Yet both men were more focused on the fight to be champions for the 20th time, of which Giggs would be a factor in 13, and Van Persie, finally, one. None of this would come as any surprise to Mourinho. What would have been to his liking was the way United fought tigerishly for their prize, which cost them Phil Jones to a second-half injury. There had been a school of thought that would have had Sir Alex Ferguson responding to Manchester City’s surprise defeat at Southampton on Saturday by resting all his main men in readiness for Wednesday’s mouthwatering showdown. That analysis underestimated how deeply the loss of the Premier League crown to Manchester City last term burned Ferguson and his players. If anything, instead of leaving players out, with the exceptions of Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick, Ferguson reinforced his team, in the belief that victory would open a gap on City so wide it cannot realistically be closed. They made the perfect start too as Wayne Rooney threaded a pass through to Van Persie, which allowed the Dutchman to cruise round Tim Howard. It looked certain to be the latest addition to Van Persie’s scoring scrapbook. Unbelievably he turned his shot on to the post. The hosts refused to let the setback affect them though, and it was not long before Giggs’s shot was rolling in off a post after Van Persie had set him up. It extended the veteran Welshman’s remarkable record of scoring in all 21 Premier League seasons and means he has now found the target in 23 campaigns altogether, a period longer than team-mate Tom Cleverley has been alive. Much like the corresponding fixture last season, when they twice came back from two goals down to clinch the draw which Ferguson believes cost his side the league, Everton responded with vigour. David de Gea produced an excellent flying stop to deny Leon Osman and Kevin Mirallas’s cross was not quite accurate enough for Victor Anichebe, who would have had the goal at his mercy. But the Toffees pressure was notable for two things. Firstly the defending of Nemanja Vidic, who threw himself into the fray, literally at times, with relish. Secondly, danger-man Marouane Fellaini picked up a shadow in Phil Jones, who nullified the Belgian in exactly the same way he did Gareth Bale last month. Indeed, after taking a knock in the first half, the manner in which Jones headed straight to the dressing room for treatment after failing to run it off in the second suggested Ferguson had something similar in mind at the Bernabeu. Fellaini did not enjoy Jones’s attentions that’s for sure and a late swipe at Cleverley to collect a yellow card summed up his afternoon. These combined efforts kept Everton at bay and when Rafael supplied Van Persie with a similar chance to the one he had spurned earlier, this time the Dutchman’s finish, after again rounding Howard, had greater accuracy and just too much power to prevent Johnny Heitinga from keeping it out. United managed to keep Everton at arm’s length for most of the second period. They might well have increased their lead too, only for Jonny Evans to be left bewildered at how he was denied three times within the space of five seconds. Two Tim Howard saves and a scrambled Nikica Jelavic clearance frustrated the Northern Irishman, who had never left the six-yard box. Rooney’s last-minute header to deny Heitinga a shooting chance epitomised the effort United had put in. Afterwards, Ferguson confessed City’s shock defeat at Southampton prompted him to scrap his selection plans and go full tilt for the title. “As soon as I saw the result at Southampton I thought this was an opportunity for us to get a real comfortable lead,” said Ferguson. “I scrapped the changes I originally planned to make. “I was going to make about seven changes but it was about being realistic. “We knew if we could get a result then it put us in a fantastic position and we can make changes later on in the season.” That pre-supposes United do make it past Real, whose manager Mourinho met Ferguson ahead of yesterday’s game. However, after losing the title to City last term, there has been a keen desire for the Red Devils to regain their superiority. And Everton boss David Moyes is not alone in believing that is what will happen. “I think 12 points against a club like Manchester United is a big gap to make up,” said Moyes. “Football doesn’t always go the way it is meant to be but it looks a lot. To be that amount of points ahead is a big thing at this time of the season. “The lads have performed brilliantly well this season “There have been parts of games where we have not done well but today is the first time I thought a better team beat us.”