No happy return for Rooney, then. Perhaps it should have been – he had a couple of presentable chances and the one just after half-time, in particular, will be replaying in his head all evening. United pulled clear at the end, not for the first time this season, and deserved the win although never by that margin. Everton were decent in the second half: they might wonder how a more proactive attitude from the start could have helped them.

United go joint-top, with an *identical* record to Man City. Everton are a deeply unsatisfactory 18th. Do we have the Mourinho-Guardiola battle this season that we were falsely promised before 2016/17? I’ll leave you with that question, and doubtless many others. Bye!

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An odd game, and never a 4-0, but that’s your lot!

Well this has all escalated. Dispatched smoothly to Pickford’s right.

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Martial runs through, looks set to score, but Schneiderlin handles the ball away from him. Martial to take and ...

90+1 min: Sandro forces a smart save from De Gea but then ...

Well that is a little unfortunate for Everton, and namely those fans who jeer mockingly when Lukaku’s tame free-kick cannons off the wall. The problem is that the ball stays alive and is quickly returned with interest from the left hand side, deflecting off a couple of people and sitting up just nicely for Lukaku to convert at the back stick. Oops. His celebration is vigorous.

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89 min: Lukaku apparently gave the Everton fans a bit of the old “hush” when the second goal went in. Endearing. He might fancy one of his own now as United win a free-kick on the edge of the area that’s perfect for a left-footer ...

87 min: Schneiderlin looks for Baines but the pass is 15 yards ahead of him. Mkhitaryan now gets his moment of applause, replaced by Martial.

86 min: Hard on Everton after this second half, but they just haven’t taken their chances – Rooney in particular – and have tended to dally at the back. They’ve been punished for both.

That’s that, and Everton have had a few of these in them. Williams fudges a pass 10 yards outside his own area, Fellaini diverts it to Lukaku, the striker brings it forward and then does really well, seeing Mkhitaryan to his left and passing unselfishly. The finish is low and clinical. Everton did that to themselves, and that particular mistake had perhaps been coming.

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82 min: Williams only just manages to smuggle another Mkhitaryan cross away. Bailly is then booked for a foul on halfway and ... now Rooney is taken off during the stoppage, to brief chants of “Rooney, Rooney”. So we won’t get the fairytale. We will get Kevin Mirallas, though.

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80 min: United have got better. Do Everton have a big last 10/12/14 in them?

78 min: Lingard almost gets a touch on a Mkhitaryan ball but retrieves possession and squeezes a shot to Pickford. Was he pulled back in the process? Quite possibly, but no penalty is given and perhaps he was “almost too honest” in carrying on and trying to score despite the impediment.

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77 min: Matic is given an invitation to shoot from distance, first by the crowd and then by Everton’s reluctance to close. It fizzes a metre wide. Subs for both now: Calvert-Lewin replaces Gueye in an attacking move for Everton, and Herrera takes Mata’s spot for United.

74 min: Rooney and Baines combine before Sandro sees a shot blocked from 18 yards. United break and Lingard, lively since coming on, has an effort of his own deflected not far over.

72 min: You sense there’s another goal in this game, at one end or the other. Martina tries to make sure it doesn’t go to United, tripping Lingard unnecessarily and earning a yellow.

70 min: Lingard could seal it for United, after Young does well to get to the left byline and cuts back to the near post. It’s on his left foot though and, under pressure from Williams, he skies it.

68 min: This half is surely the best Everton have played all season. Rooney feeds Sigurdsson on the left and he looks to check and bend a right-footed cross in; he gets it all wrong, though, and it sails out.

66 min: Sandro comes on for Everton now, in place of Davies, who has played well.

64 min: Pickford almost undoes all of Everton’s better work with a terrible ball out from the back that lands straight at Mata, who dallies a little and is bundled over by Williams right on the edge of the box. Yellow card. Free kick. Thudded onto the near post by Mata’s left foot! That would have won it for them!

61 min: De Gea saves United again! A stray Jones header is latched onto by Sigurdsson and, with Rooney also lurking, he stretches to shoot from the corner of the six yard box. It’s repelled by the goalkeeper’s body. But Everton have, bar Lukaku’s chance earlier, probably had better opportunities than United now.

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61 min: I was right, just this time – Rashford, not great today, goes off.

60 min: We are about to see Jesse Lingard. I’d remove Rashford, but then hooking Mata would add extra speed on the break.

58 min: There’s just no real speed to United’s play. Everton, nicely compact, have had some influence on that and you’d have to say Pogba is missed too. But the likes of Mkhitaryan and Rashford haven’t done enough here, for me.

57 min: This is, actually, probably the least impressive I’ve seen from United so far this season. Everton can sense similar and look a lot more assertive now. Can they create enough chances though?

54 min: Better from United now as a Mata delivery swings over Jagielka’s head. That means Lukaku has room in front of goal, but his chest control is heavy and the ball pops up, meaning the resulting volley is awkward and spooned high.

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51 min: Gueye is caught on the ball by Fellaini, who feeds Mkhitaryan. The Armenian finds Rashford in turn, but he checks inside from the left and curls well wide. Not great. United still yet to come out after half-time.

50 min: Rooney is at it again, almost rounding Bailly on the edge of the area, but Jones is across in the nick of time. United having a few nervous moments at the hands of their returning legend.

49 min: That was such a good opportunity for Rooney. Everton should be level. United haven’t really begun the second period yet.

46 min: Rooney has an even better chance! What a start to the half that would have been! He exchanges passes with Davies, sashays into the right of the area, and seems to have been crowded out – but he bundles through and, at an angle, has only De Gea to beat! But his left-footed shot is too close to his former team-mate and the save is made. Should have scored!

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Can Everton and Rooney turn this around?

“Ronald Koeman said his team has to be more aggressive, Everton signs Angry Birds as sleeve sponsor,” Sibi Titus and a number of others point out.

Valencia shinned his goal, by the way. But who cares?

A bit more pizazz going forward and Everton could yet trouble United. They were set up so cautiously at the start though – and this was supposed to be the season where they went toe to toe with the top six ...

Not a great half, although we did see a great goal from Valencia. Lukaku should have made it two for United but Everton, awful for 20 minutes, did get better and Rooney missed a reasonable opportunity to write the headlines. You feel United can and should step this up and win in comfort; for now, they’ll have to be vigilant and make sure Martina, Everton’s biggest threat, gets a little less space down the right.

44 min: Jagielka chooses to leave a harmless dinked ball by Mata for Pickford, who is distinctly surprised and fumbles. For a split second Lukaku might pounce, but the goalkeeper recovers. When pressed, Everton to not look secure.

42 min: Some real seat-of-the-pants defending by Everton now, passing the ball up towards halfway without ever really having it under control. They’ll be happy to hear the whistle.

41 min: Rashford shanks a poor, flat cross beyond everybody. He’s blown hot and cold so far.

39 min: It could have come there, Lukaku running clear again after a give-and-go with Rashford before Jagielka slides in superbly as the trigger is pulled. United win one corner, and then a second that loops around and causes some bother, but Everton just about survive again.

38 min: Williams has to make another crucial challenge as the last man to prevent Mkhitaryan from breaking. You do feel a second United goal would finish this, but until then Everton are certainly keeping them honest.

37 min: Everton have, to be fair, improved massively since that first 15 or 20 minutes. Still a lack of real pace and zest though.

35 min: Pickford slides in adeptly to *just* beat Rashford to the ball and, also, avoid handling it outside the area. It was a beautiful pass by, I think, Mkhitaryan that set him scurrying away.

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34 min: A scrappy phase, now. You’d have say that United haven’t turned the screw as they could have. What is Sir Alex, shown sitting next to Mick Hucknall in the directors’ box, thinking?

31 min: A smooth Everton move ends up at Martina’s feet again, but he crosses poorly into Matic with players waiting. He gets another chance to overlap moments later but is adjudged to have pulled Young back.

29 min: Davies dives onto a Martina cross and De Gea saves with his legs from point-blank range ... but Davies was offside anyway. That right side is providing them with some joy.

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28 min: That might yet prove crucial. Awful error by Keane just as Everton were getting a reasonable foothold – but he was let off!

26 min: What a miss from Lukaku! Keane plays a disastrous square pass in his own half that totally wrong-foots Schneiderlin. Lukaku seizes the ball, surges into the box, commits Williams and has most of the goal to aim at from about 10 yards. He slots it past Pickford, but also wide of the post!

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