Manchester United v Everton: five talking points | Jamie Jackson

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/44584?ns=guardian&pageName=Manchester+United+v+Everton%3A+five+talking+points+%7C+Jamie+Jackson%3AArticle%3A1734723&ch=Football&c3=GU.co.uk&c4=Premier+League+2011-12%2CManchester+United+%28Football%29%2CEverton+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=Unclassified%2CEuropa+League%2CPremier+League&c6=Jamie+Jackson&c7=12-Apr-22&c8=1734723&c9=Article&c10=Analysis%2CComment&c11=Football&c13=&c25=Sport+blog&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FPremier+League+2011-12" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">Steven Pienaar's late strike against Manchester United means the destiny of the Premier League title is up in the air again</p><h2>Title now wide open</h2><p></p><p></p><p>Raise a glass to Steven Pienaar if you are a member of the Manchester City congregation. The South African's late equaliser had the joy levels of the Blue half of this parish surging again.</p><p>With City kicking off later in the day at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sir Alex Ferguson's men knew they had this chance to pile more pressure on their rivals by claiming a 74th league victory over Everton. Instead, they went behind to Nikica Jelavic's looping header with 11 minutes remaining of the first half and although Wayne Rooney equalised just before the break this means the destiny of the championship is up in the air again, depending on who wins all of their final games. Danny Welbeck, Nani and Rooney's second appeared to have killed that dream for City – despite Marouane Fellaini's 67th-minute striker – before Jelavic then Pienaar stepped up to score what could be this season's most pivotal goal.</p><p></p><h2>Was Ferguson correct to rest Ashley Young for Nani?</h2><p></p><p></p><p>By the close the answer was an emphatic yes, with the Portuguese scoring for the second Sunday on the bounce– United's third here following his fourth in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa - while also being a creative force.</p><p>Of the furore surrounding Ashley Young winning penalties while going down dubiously, Sir Alex Ferguson said beforehand: "Ashley is in danger of being targeted as a diver. It doesn't take much for the press to get a bandwagon rolling these days and in my view it's quite unfair."</p><p>Still, the Scot was moved to leave Young out – perhaps to freshen his side up, perhaps in reaction to the winger's actions – to allow Nani a first start since 4 March.</p><p>An impressive performance followed that also included the 39th-minute cross for Rooney's first header and he then flipped a superb finish over Howard after 61 minutes.</p><p></p><h2>Is Rio Ferdinand in the form deserving of a Euro 2012 place?</h2><p></p><p>The 33-year-old had again been performing like the Cool Hand Luke of the Reds defence until the frantic closing minutes. Then, Ferdinand was involved in the mix-up with Jonny Evans that allowed Jelavic's second to pull Everton back to 4-3 and he may scold himself for not picking up Pienaar for the South African's equaliser five minutes from the end of normal time.</p><p>Often matched with Fellaini, the veteran's vision allowed him to cut out a Jelavic cross on 16 minutes as the bushy haired midfielder lurked near David De Gea, and his expert foot-in to take the ball off the Croatian after 27 minutes was another illustration of his class.</p><p>Unlike Everton's final two goals, Ferdinand could do nothing about Jelavic's opener or Fellaini's second-half goal, but his involvement (or lack of) with Everton's last two may cause questions regarding his suitability to again pull on an international shirt at Euro 2012.</p><p></p><h2>Michael Carrick's quiet afternoon</h2><p></p><p>The silent partner in the United midfield, the 30-year-old's metronomic passing attracts less plaudits than Paul Scholes, his collaborator. For Ferguson, he is the "unsung" hero who comes good as the season enters its reckoning stage and who can turn a game – as well as allowing Scholes to play.</p><p>After 31 minutes Carrick produced a sublime moment: a sweeping 70-yard pass on the right-to-left diagonal that landed perfectly into the gallop of Nani as he moved into space near Tim Howard's goal. There was also a slide rule ball skimmed out to Antonio Valencia on the opposing flank after 10 minutes that had Sylvain Distin stretching and conceding the throw-in.</p><p>But, there were looser contributions. One misplaced regulation offering had Patrice Evra scrambling and he later produced an aimless punt from a deep-lying position that gave possession too easily to Everton as he found John Heitinga. With United dropping two vital points one verdict is that Carrick did not do enough to shape this afternoon for his team.</p><p></p><h2>Can Everton finish above Liverpool?</h2><p></p><p>Why not? In Nikica Jelavic the Toffees have a red-hot striker – his two goals here were the seventh and eighth of a nascent Everton career – as David Moyes's men proved they still teem with spirit despite the bitter disappointment handed them last weekend.</p><p>Then, at Wembley, Andy Carroll's late late header for Liverpool allowed Everton's Merseyside rivals to win 2-1 in the dying moments of their FA Cup semi-final to pose the following question: would the next eight days until this encounter prove to be too long stewing time or sufficient for Moyes and his men to cleanse their system?</p><p>The evidence throughout showed the latter to be true. Early on, Jelavic and Fellaini were bright and it was Distin who spurned the best chance so far from a corner on 20 minutes. This point at the Theatre of Dreams gives them two over Liverpool as Evertonians dream of a summer of bragging over Kenny Dalglish's men.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premier-league-2011-12">Premier League 2011-12</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/manchester-united">Manchester United</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/everton">Everton</a></li><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague">Premier League</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jamiejackson">Jamie Jackson</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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