Manchester United Vs. Villareal Match Report

United's Champions League defence got off to a frustrating start, as Villarreal's stifling approach yielded a goalless draw at Old Trafford.

Both sides struck the upright in the second half as the game opened up, but not even the return of Cristiano Ronaldo as a substitute could provide the inspiration required for United to overcome the Spaniards.

Following Saturday's defeat at Liverpool, Sir Alex Ferguson freshened up his side with six changes. Jonny Evans and Gary Neville replaced Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown in defence, while Ji-sung Park, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves and Nani comprised an entirely new midfield quartet.

The Reds' reversion to a 4-4-2 saw Wayne Rooney back upfront alongside Carlos Tevez, with new signing Dimitar Berbatov ruled out entirely by a slight knee injury sustained during his debut.

Despite the wholesale changes, United fashioned the first opening after eight minutes. Hargreaves' left-wing corner evaded everybody, including Villarreal 'keeper Diego Lopez. Fortunately for the flapping Spaniard, his attempts to claim the ball were enough to put off the unmarked Rio Ferdinand, who could only mis-hit his effort, allowing the chance to pass.

Lopez did muster a fine save from Tevez's powerful 25-yarder, but the visitors were lucky to survive two decent penalty shouts when Park was twice brought down inside the area. An effort from Rooney - from the halfway line on the stroke of half-time - perfectly summed up the mood of frustration inside Old Trafford.

Villarreal emerged late for the second half, continuing the theme of doing all they could to stifle United. They almost nicked a lead, when Guille Franco sent a cheeky backheel against van der Sar's post, prompting the introduction of substitutes Ronaldo and Anderson to try and inspire some penetration.

The move gave the Old Trafford crowd a major lift, and Ronaldo's first major contribution was to release Rooney on a breakaway. The striker unselfishly squared for Tevez who managed to scuff a shot goalwards, only for Yellow Submarines skipper Gonzalo Rodriguez to slide the ball off the line.

With 10 minutes remaining, Ronaldo passed up a golden opportunity to mark his return with a dramatic winner, but he could only glance a header wide from Nani's inswinging left-wing cross. Moments later, Ronaldo fizzed in a superb cross, but Jonny Evans could only send a diving header against the foot of the post.

That proved to be the match's last effort of note. A draw ended a run of two straight defeats - against Zenit St Petersburg and Liverpool - but was far from the ideal start to United's defence of the Champions League title.

The Line-ups

MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra; Park (Ronaldo, 59), Fletcher, Hargreaves (Anderson, 59), Nani; Tevez (Giggs, 81), Rooney.
Subs not used: Foster, Brown, Vidic, O'Shea.
Booked: Tevez

VILLARREAL: D Lopez; A Lopez, Edmilson, Rodriguez, Capdevila; Eguren, Cani, Fernandez, Godin,Pires; Franco (Llorente 77)
Subs not used: Viera, Cazorla, Ibagaza, Venta, Senna, Fuentes.
Booked: Franco, Ibagaza, D Lopez.

Attendance: 74, 944