The game had moved into the last six minutes and was drifting to a nil-nil draw when Everton's Tony Hibbert cleared at the expense of a corner. As Nemanja Vidic moved upfield, you looked at him and thought he’s the only way United can score. Everton reckoned likewise and their biggest defender, Joseph Yobo, attached himself to the Serb.

At this point everyone, except Vidic, had settled for a draw. Fairness demanded it. Both teams had played for almost an hour and a half, competing fiercely, and yet neither goalkeeper had been asked to make a worthwhile save. United were neat in everything they did, they played with a lot of energy too but it was artistry without substance.

Everton were less pretty but efficient. They knew how to counter United and it was quite an achievement to introduce a new goalkeeper, Stefan Wessels, and then ensure he had an almost idle afternoon. Alas for Everton, their industry and organisation didn’t create much at the other end of the pitch. Yakubu and Andy Johnson started as if they meant business but, by halftime, Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, had lowered their expectations.

So that’s where it was as Nani delivered that late corner. Standing centre of goal, Vidic surged towards the near post, Yobo went with them but as the ball arrived, Vidic jumped early, hung momentarily in the air and then powered a header into the roof of the net. It was the game’s outstanding moment and coming from Vidic, about as predictable as these things can be.

Everton’s manager David Moyes complained about the lapse of concentration that allowed United to score but that was harsh because Vidic’s movement was outstanding and Yobo wasn’t exactly dozy, just beaten to the draw by an outstanding opponent. Sometimes, you’ve got to say the other guy was damned good and, apart from John Terry, what Premiership player goes after corners like Vidic?

How United needed their goal-hunting centre-back because they’re struggling for goals. “We know we’re a bit short at the moment,” said Sir Alex Ferguson afterwards, “but when we get our injured players back, we’ll be fine.” United started with Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs up front but for all their class, neither could be the spearhead the team badly needed.

Tevez constantly dropped deep to link with Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick and while there was a lot of clever passing and wonderful movement, they couldn’t find a way to hurt Everton. The home side deserve credit here because their defence was magnificent; Hibbert played well, Yobo and Joleon Lescott were composed while the left-back, Leighton Baines, excelled. His first one-on-one with Ronaldo was informative as the United winger performed some fancy footwork as Baines bided his time.

When the tackle came, it was perfectly time and away went Baines with the ball. “Leighton Baines,” said Moyes, “is a very good player.” Ronaldo got little thereafter, apart from a yellow card for diving. That came with 18 minutes remaining as he weaved his way across the edge of the Everton penalty area and went down following the lightest touch from Leon Osman. Hardly had Ronaldo hit the ground but referee Alan Wiley was waving a yellow card over him.

Sir Alex wasn’t amused. “Carlos [Quieroz] has seen it and he was definitely clipped, although it was outside the box. It was a ridiculous decision,” he said. Perhaps. But United weren’t really in a position to complain about Wiley. Late in the first half, Scholes got himself a silly yellow card when throwing the ball away after a decision went against him. Then, to prove that you can play any number of years and still be susceptible to bouts of madness, Scholes lunged at the heels of Mikel Arteta and at any other point in the match, it’s a definite yellow. But referees are human too and Wiley just gave the free-kick, like he understood that the finest sportsmen can be momentarily stupid. And if anyone deserves the luck of the draw, it is Scholes.

He makes more passes than anyone in the Premier League and as much as anyone, it was his technical mastery that made Everton run and sapped their energy. Scholes also had a defensive moment as he headed off the line after Johnson’s near-post header looped towards the far corner. That was as close as Everton would come. And the difficulty for Everton was that they did so much running to live with United in the first half, they were bound to wilt a little thereafter. For much of the second period, they were settling for the draw their resilience deserved. Deserve?

What has that got to do with anything? After Vidic’s later header, Everton stirred themselves for a late assault on the United goal and, by then, Scotland’s Man of the 21st Century, James McFadden, was on the pitch. Picking up a loose clearance on the edge of the United area, he struck a decent shot that Edwin van der Sar was happy to parry.

The ball broke towards another substitute, Victor Anichebe, who would have scored if Rio Ferdinand had not made a fine block. “That’s the kind of defending that wins you titles,” said Ferguson. It is and, undeniably, United are doing the business defensively. They have played six games and won four of them 1-0, and conceded two goals.

Those with thoughts of taking United’s title will have noticed the defensive record. And when you consider that one of the centre-backs is just about the team’s most likely scorer, the temptation is to genuflect at the Altar of Nemanja. Well, how about agreeing that in the catalogue of Ferguson signings, at £7.5m Vidic rates as one of the best pieces of business the manager has done. Everton Man Utd 2 Shots on target (incl goals) 3 5 Shots off target 7 2 Blocked shots 7 3 Corners won 6 20 Total fouls conceded 13 1 Offsides 3 2 Yellow cards 2 0 Red cards 0 38% Possession 62%

Star man: Vidic (Manchester Utd)

Player ratings: Everton: Wessels 6, Hibbert 7, Yobo 7, Lescott 7, Baines 8, Arteta 5, Neville 6 (McFadden 86min), Jagielka 6, Osman 5 (Pienaar 75min), Johnson, Yakubu (Anichebe 75min)

Manchester Utd: Van der Sar 7, Brown 6, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 9, Silvestre 6 (Nani 43min 6, Pique, 86min), Ronaldo 5, Carrick 6, Scholes 7, Evra 6, Giggs 5 (Saha 63min), Tevez