12.37 – And it’s Everton who have started the better of the two teams.

The visitors have created two half-chances already, with Jelavic shooting tamely at De Gea when played through on the edge of the area, while Osman drags a shot wide of the goal straight after.

A case of early nerves for United, perhaps?

12.44 – Nani escapes his marker, but his shot from the edge of the area is straight at Howard.

Not much else to write about at the moment. Something tells me it may be a long game for United fans.

12.50 – A flick-on by Rooney sends Rafael through on goal, but the full-back can’t quite adjust his feet properly in time to shoot.

United are looking slightly more threatening now, and are also beginning to enjoy more possession of the ball.

However, as I type, Distin heads narrowly wide from Phil Neville’s cross.

12.54 – And the winner of the most-laboured-attempt-at-a-pun award goes to…

13.03 – Darron Gibson produces a trademark powerful shot from distance, which goes narrowly wide.

At the moment, Everton’s five-man midfield is doing a decent job of curbing the creativity of Scholes and Carrick. Hence, Nani and Valencia have rarely had a chance to attack their opposition full-backs in dangerous areas.

13.26 – So it’s half-time, and United have given their archetypal end-of-season title run-in performance: i.e. they’re not playing particularly well but still have a very good chance of winning this game, and probably will.

Everton, in contrast, despite starting brightly and taking a deserved lead, have again failed to show the ruthlessness that they also seemingly lacked against Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final.

14.40 – It’s almost impossible to summarise that game in a sentence or two, but I’ll try.

Everton showed incredible spirit to come back, especially give that they don’t have much to play for, as another mid-table-ish finish beckons for David Moyes’ men.

United’s performance, meanwhile, was characterised by a casual approach throughout the game, and they ultimately suffered as a result of this attitude.

14.48 – David Moyes said his side “put on a show” and says he knew it was “going to be a gung ho game”. He adds that he thought the referee “made his own rules today” and was “poor,” in reference to that incident where he failed to stop play when Pienaar was injured, allowing United to score.

14.51 – Alex Ferguson calls the game “a throwaway” and says his side have “made it hard for themselves as they normally do”. He blames “defensive lapses for the result”. He admits the game at the Etihad is now likely to decide the outcome of the title race.

14.55 – Alright, that’s it from me for the moment. Thanks for reading and commenting. City’s match with Wolves is arguably even more important now, so be sure to stay tuned for our liveblog at 4.