Champions League - United held by Villarreal

Eurosport - Thu, 18 Sep 10:03:00 2008

Villarreal held Manchester United to a frustrating goalless draw in Group E as the holders got the defence of their Champions League title off to a disappointing start.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Champions League Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo - 0

Not even the return of Cristiano Ronaldo - making his first appearance of the season as a second half substitute - could inspire United as the hosts dropped their first home points in the competition since the Spanish side last played at Old Trafford in the 2005-06 season.

Ronaldo was introduced in the 62nd minute to a warm reception from the United faithful, whose fondness for the forward has clearly not been affected by the summer's unsettling transfer rumours.

The stage was set for the Portuguese to make it a comeback to remember, but despite his best efforts - including a volley into the hands of Villarreal keeper Diego Lopez, a header wide of the post and an excellent cross from which Jonny Evans hit the woodwork late on - Villarreal succeeded in frustrating the holders, much like they did three years ago when they came away from Manchester with a similar scoreline.

Deprived of Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick through injury and Paul Scholes through suspension, Alex Ferguson was forced to send out a much-changed side to the one that lost to Liverpool at the weekend.

In came Darren Fletcher, Nani and Ji-Sung Park while centre-half Nemanja Vidic dropped to the bench in favour of Evans and Gary Neville was preferred to Wes Brown at right-back.

But the unfamiliar line-up enjoyed far the better of the opening period by the time Ronaldo arrived his team-mates had already had two first-half penalty shouts turned down. At the other end the Liga side also hit the woodwork through Guillermo Franco's fine second half effort.

Park was the man twice brought down in the Villarreal box, first by Sebastian Eguren on the quarter-hour mark and then by a clumsy 38th minute Joan Capdevila challenge.

On both occasions referee Wolfgang Stark waved play on - and on both occasions television replays proved the German official to have made mistakes.

Prior to the first penalty shout, United had already threatened the visitors' goal, Rio Ferdinand getting to an Owen Hargreaves corner, only to fluff his lines after being unsighted by a floundering Lopez.

The Villarreal keeper looked shaky early on and Nani was the first to realise United may be able to capitalise. The Portuguese winger unleashed a long range effort soon after Lopez's flap from the corner and again the keeper showed a lack of composure, spilling the shot into the danger area in front of him. Fortunately for the visitors, the colour of the shirt the ball fell to was yellow, and not red.

Park then saw a shot well blocked by Edmilson after a neat interchange of passes between Fletcher and Nani had fashioned a shooting opportunity on the edge of the Villarreal box.

But as the half progressed, some semblance of confidence returned to Lopez, and by the time he was next tested - on the half-hour mark - he was equal to Carlos Tevez's well-struck 25-yarder.

Despite United's dominance of possession, Villarreal still managed to find a way through the hosts' defence - Robert Pires, the former Arsenal winger, tested Edwin van der Sar on 29 minutes with a crisp low strike, but it was never going to beat the Dutch keeper from such a tight angle.

News of Ronaldo's imminent return - confirmed by Alex Ferguson at the break - gave United a lift at the start of the second half, but before last season's top scorer in the competition could get on the pitch, the best chance of the game fell the visitors' way.

Indeed, Villarreal were unlucky not to take a surprise lead when Mexico international Franco's clever flick struck the inside of the far upright following a lovely, flowing passing move that had carved open United's defence.

It proved to be Villarreal's last real chance of note as United stepped up a gear following Ronaldo's introduction.

Evans saw a standing header go the wrong side of the post before the spotlight fell on Ronaldo in the 65th minute as a Tevez cross reached him near the penalty spot. But the substitute's timing was out and he miscued a first-time volley, hitting the ball into the ground and into the grateful arms of Lopez.

Minutes later Ronaldo was the architect of United's next attack, threading a pass through for Rooney to run on to. The England striker squared the ball to Tevez, but the Argentinian's poke past Lopez was cleared off the line by Gonzalo Rodriguez.

There was still time for one further chance to fall Ronaldo's way, a header from Nani's deep cross which flew wide of the mark but that, along with Evans's late effort off the post, rather summed up United's frustrating evening.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

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  1. united need ronaldo

    From AR, on Sat 20 Sep 11:15AM

  2. Everywhere...and at Anytime BEFORE,NOW..And in the­ FUTURE..."ONE "MAN"..DOES MAKE A HELL OF­ A DIFFERENCE" IN Any Team...sO is CRISTIANO­ RONALDO...!!
    So, ALL those Morons & Retards, that­ Post the "Mantra" "One Man Does not MAKE­ A TEAM" ..are Barking Up THE WRONG TREE!!
    In ANY­ and EVERY FOOTBALL TEAM..."ONE" Player"­ is the Head,Heart, and SOUL of their Squad...!!
    PLEASE­ therefore STOP your Heinous, Mouthfuls of­ S...T..."Man.U"...Will get NOWHERE, without­ CRISTIANO RONALDO, !! FULL STOP !!!
    Change your SICK,­ "MANTRAS" ...Cann't You "LEARN"­ Any New Lines...at LEAST????

    From Dean_ManU, on Sat 20 Sep 12:51AM

  3. Where are the MANU Fans for crying out loud? Hey­ GUYS,dont give up too soon. Let'S support our team­ to the very end. The game has just started. This­ Season's ours!Remember that we are the Supreme­ Champions!

    From Pearle, on Fri 19 Sep 11:19PM

  4. The man. utd fans thought Ronaldo is the only player­ they can not do without, and they might end up of not­ having any trophy this season , just look at J S Park­ did, the guy really impress me ,let me tell fans you­ need to pray very well for not ended up of not winning­ any title this season and after this season the ball­ will go to MAN. city
    Moses Nigeria

    From orangun m, on Fri 19 Sep 10:43AM

  5. Oh how fickle we all are, as a LFC fan it pains me to­ admit that Man U will be soon over this little blip and­ show there class, as will the whinging, greasy, diving­ but talented Ronaldo, then some will be eating their­ words. LFC are not there yet, but we are slowly­ creeping closer.
    Chelsea you can have your money, but­ you will never have class. No matter how much money you­ have... you can’t polish a turd.

    From Paul, on Thu 18 Sep 7:44PM

  6. From LLanito, Man United is not dead by far. Chelski­ fans can say what they like, but before they get­ carried away they should look at Man United past record­ and compair it to that of Chelski. When you get sick­ aqter comparison, just take a deep breath but in­ Manchester which will cure your blindness.We shall see­ what happens on Sunday. By the way how sad the FA­ running down the referee in the case of Terry.If they­ can over turn this decision then they can do so for­ other clear mistakes made by the referees.

    From llanito65, on Thu 18 Sep 5:56PM

  7. So Manu Utd are not top of the Premier and bottom of­ their European Champions league group and already the­ whingers in the crowd are blaming poor refereeing­ decisions and unfairness. Well live with it and get on­ with it. These things even themselves out over a­ season, which has just begun. Why do Man U think they­ are above it all and hard done by when they walk over­ authority and other clubs as if they do not exist. I­ for one hope Uited fall falt on their smug faces this­ year and end outside the top four and knocked out of­ the champions league. They need a wake up call to­ reality as do their fans. I dare Yahoo to print this­ and watch the rhetoric from the blinkered Reds!

    From Allen H, on Thu 18 Sep 4:57PM

  8. Hate to chip in with the bleeding obvious here, but­ didn't two entirely disgraceful and bent refereeing­ decisions regarding penalties deny MUFC a win? Or was I­ and the rest of the world watching a different­ match!

    In any case we at MUFC have come to realise­ that we play the officials as well. Look at the lifting­ of that Chelsea player's (what was his name­ now.....?) 3 match ban just before we play them.­ Totally bent!

    From Tony H, on Thu 18 Sep 2:52PM

  9. what a week for man u. guess the worst is still yet to­ come....

    From Cool, on Thu 18 Sep 12:47PM

  10. man u may be having it tough at the start of the season­ but dont be too fat to write them off they surely will­ bounce bck

    From austin b, on Thu 18 Sep 10:31AM

  11. It just shows how shallow Man U's fans are no­ heart, no sole, no pride, how could no true supporter­ would cheer a man who is a traitor to the club and the­ fans. good player, obsene character.

    From Ronsenglish, on Thu 18 Sep 10:03AM

  12. There is nothing fantastic about MANU at the beginning­ of this season as compared to the hard fighting C H E L­ S E A. MANU B E W A R E !!!!!!!!!!

    From davies_oyetunji, on Thu 18 Sep 9:44AM

  13. Xenophobia anyone (see 78!)

    From markrose260, on Thu 18 Sep 9:31AM

  14. SEE FERGUSON HAS ALL READDY THE SQUITS
    MAN U SCUM WIN F­ ALL
    LOOSE`S RONALDO
    NEVIL RETIRES
    GIGGS RETIRES­
    VANDESAR RETIRES
    BERBATOF ENDS UP AS ANOTHER VERON­
    GOOD LOOKIN TEVEZ TRYS TO GO TO EVETON
    AN MICHAEL­ JACKON IZ IN DANCE HOPIN & HOPIN SPURS MAKES A MOVE

    From mcpluker, on Thu 18 Sep 9:18AM

  15. how many glory hunting reds are gonna be singing­ ronaldos praises in three weeks when hes fit

    From tony0ldbury, on Thu 18 Sep 9:08AM

  16. ALBANIA LIKE MAU U ! THEY VERY GOOD !

    From Dean O, on Thu 18 Sep 9:06AM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I LIKU MAN YOU! I LIKE MAN U ! EVERY OTHER TEAM @#$% !

    From Dean O, on Thu 18 Sep 9:03AM

  18. Man u is the most awesome team ever, they will come and­ shine thru

    From amanda.hedley, on Thu 18 Sep 8:58AM

  19. Why do people post on this site when they cant even­ speak English just an observation from someone reading­ a load of drivel from either foreigners in other­ countries or immigrants to this country !! As for Man­ Utd no alarm bells ringing yet we started like this­ last season too so im not too bothered .

    From Eagle3777, on Thu 18 Sep 8:55AM

  20. ok

    From KrazyBaybee310, on Thu 18 Sep 8:41AM
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