Manchester United Women stretched their unbeaten run with a goalless draw at Goodison Park, but Eva Olid conceded her side fell below their recent standards. The dropped points leave United fourth and adrift of the Champions League places before a trip to an in-form Aston Villa.

Eva Olid did not dress it up. After a lunchtime Women’s Super League match against Everton, the head coach called it “not a good performance”. She admitted her side had not found a way to win.

The point kept a run going. In the league alone, United have now gone six matches without defeat. Yet the afternoon felt like a step backwards. Olid felt her team dropped below the standards they had set in recent weeks.

United had come into the game in good form. They had won three and drawn one of their previous four WSL matches. That sequence included a late equaliser in the derby against Manchester City the weekend before.

Neither side found the breakthrough at Goodison Park. Ornella Vignola had Everton’s best openings, but twice shot straight at Phallon Tullis-Joyce. United’s best chance of a late winner came when Elisabeth Terland ran on to a through ball from Jess Park. Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan saved her shot.

Her diagnosis was specific. Without the ball, United were too slow and lost individual battles. In possession, they lacked the creativity and link-up play of recent matches. Olid gave Everton credit for how they played. But in her view the result was more about United’s own shortcomings, and her side would keep working hard.

United’s league return is the lowest in their history at this stage

The wider picture is less comfortable than the unbeaten run suggests.

Goals have been the issue in the league. United scored only nine WSL goals in their first seven league games, the club’s lowest-ever tally at that stage. The contrast with the cup is stark. In four League Cup matches, United have scored 22.

That gap points to a side that has found goals easier to come by outside the league. A blank at Goodison Park did nothing to change the league picture.

The cost shows in the table. United’s goal difference stands at -2, while Everton sit sixth on 10 points. Chelsea and Manchester City are level at the top on 19 points from seven games each. London City Lionesses hold third place with 16 points from seven. Every draw like this one makes the chase harder.

Villa arrive unbeaten in eight ahead of Villa Park meeting

The next test will not be gentle. Aston Villa go into the match unbeaten in eight games in all competitions. Their latest result was a draw with Arsenal in the WSL on Sunday 1 November.

Olid’s frank assessment sets the tone for that trip.

United will hope the cup scoring touch travels into the league. The unbeaten run gives them a platform, but the points total shows how much ground there is to make up.

That league meeting with Villa is the next chance for United to start closing the gap.