After an afternoon of remarkable misery, Manchester United were in the mood for a little dullness. Sentimentalists among their followers might have hoped for a trouncing of Everton to exorcise the horde of demons unleashed by Manchester City in last week's 6-1 rout at Old Trafford. The manager had other ideas.
It is not flippant to portray Nemanja Vidic as the key to United's success. His fitness is currently uncertain and the Serb had been absent from the match with City. His availability for Goodison Park was a boon for United, particularly when Sir Alex Ferguson had decided on a return to the raw essentials of football, such as relentless defending.
The historic flamboyance of United can be misleading. The club, after all, took the title last season with just five wins away from home, but there are three to their name already this season. That suggests a rising exuberance, but this was a dour fixture, regardless of the fact Everton were beaten.
Entertaining the public has fallen off the United agenda for the time being. The match was treated as a venture into dangerous territory. United's conservatism also owed much to the realisation that Everton do not have the sort of forwards to bring havoc down on a defence.
United, by their standards, had been subdued, but that was a policy rather than a hangover. Darren Fletcher, for instance, kept close to his centre-backs and was alert to the potential danger posed by deep-lying attackers, such as Leon Osman. The side had not been sent out to achieve catharsis by pounding these opponents.
There were changes to the United line-up rather than reprisals on those who had let Ferguson down the week before. Anderson was nowhere to be seen, but, in general, the alterations were not unusual for a club of such resources. Given the concerns about his capacity to stay fit, the selection of Rio Ferdinand on the bench surprised no one.
If Ferguson had any message, to deliver it was that his side had to get back to their routine. They did not assert themselves to a great extent or take risks, and that could indeed have been an indication of the harm done by the mauling by City. But there were other contexts in which to understand the action. United had not won on this ground since September 2007.
Few of their supporters will revel in the result itself, but there had been at least a satisfactory reaction to the experience in the City match, which Ferguson had described as his "worst-ever day" with United. The manager was too shrewd to resort to histrionics when it came to picking the line-up. Jonny Evans, for instance, started after a wretched display against City that came to a close with a red card. With the suspension conveniently served against Aldershot in the Carling Cup, he was available for Goodison and showed the worth he can have so long as the opposing attackers are not of City's calibre.
Everton could not avoid providing therapy for United. The visitors might have anticipated more resistance as they developed a move that ended with Javier Hernández knocking in Patrice Evra's low ball from close range for the only goal of the afternoon.
United seldom looked as if they had it in them to construct such an attack again, but Ferguson had never intended an onslaught. He had opted for a 4-4-1-1 system. The side had also been restricted to a lone striker against City the previous weekend, but the 4-2-3-1 formation was far more expansive and the outlook of the footballers within it was adventurous.
At Goodison, the priority was never to be outnumbered in key areas. It was an afternoon to repudiate the romanticism that has drenched United's history. Fletcher, towards the close, had virtually pasted himself on to the back four. Ferguson, prowling on the edge of the technical area, must have grimaced mostly because there were six minutes of stoppage time to endure.
The jeopardy for United had, in truth, vanished by then. The United manager must have come with hope of containing Everton. Moyes's side has some excellent attributes, but economics dictate that the club cannot afford the kind of outstanding attacker who might have harmed the United defence. The outcome could have been changed on, perhaps, just one occasion.
Tellingly, it did not come in open play. Leighton Baines's free-kick against the crossbar in the 40th minute was well struck, but sheer perfection had been essential if Everton were to score a goal.
With Chelsea all but stripped of their reputation for defensive intransigence in the defeat by Arsenal, most of the leading sides have imperfections. City may have a quality that puts them in a category of their own, but United can be counted on to make them show that excellence time and again this season.
