Ronaldo Back But Troubles Continue for Tepid United

It was quite a party in Moscow 119 days ago and the suspicion lingers that Manchester United are still struggling to come to terms with the hangover. It is now two victories from six matches for Sir Alex Ferguson's side after Villarreal ensured that the Champions League holders endured a frustrating start to their defence of the trophy that was lifted in such dramatic fashion in May. There was no such excitement here as United toiled against the La Liga runners-up, continuing their unconvincing start to the season.

Jonny Evans hit the post late on and Carlos Tevez had an effort cleared off the line but Villarreal were not a side under siege. Cristiano Ronaldo's appearance as a second-half substitute lifted the mood but there was to be no storybook return for the Portuguese. Resilient and obdurate, Villarreal departed with a point that brings to an end United's record of 12 straight home victories in the Champions League and leaves Ferguson still searching for the remedy to the malaise that has left his side looking strangely subdued.

The Champions League is revered worldwide but this was no occasion for the competition to celebrate its prestigious place in football. It felt like a trick of the mind that this was a match of significance when the team-sheets arrived and revealed that the substitutes' benches were replete with players that had been expected to start. With Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes all unavailable, Ferguson's decision to leave out Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic and Anderson came as something of a surprise.

Villarreal might have taken solace from the United line-up on another day but the sight of two Spanish internationals, Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla, warming the bench alongside the Argentina midfielder Ariel Ibagaza and recent signing Joseba Llorente suggested Manuel Pellegrini was resigned to picking up nothing here. Ferguson, with one eye on Sunday's meeting with Chelsea and perhaps still upset with the performance against Liverpool last weekend, will no doubt have had very different motives for his selection.

Either way, the corollary was a lackluster opening 45 minutes during which United were comfortably in the ascendancy but unable to produce the kind of exhilarating football that is expected of them at Old Trafford on European nights. There was no shortage of possession but penetration was painfully lacking in the final third as the home team struggled to find any fluency.

United were not without chances but there was little conviction in the penalty area, something that was evident as early as the eighth minute when Rio Ferdinand failed to react quickly enough when Diego López was unable to gather Owen Hargreaves' inswinging corner. Later in the half the industrious Tevez stung López's hands with a vicious 25-yard angled drive, the forward entitled to shoot from distance after watching the Villarreal goalkeeper make a pig's ear of holding an attempt from Nani in the 14th minute.

The pressure on the Villarreal goal was sporadic rather than incessant, however, and Ferguson, who learned earlier in the day that he could face disciplinary action from the Football Association after his comments about Keith Hackett, must have been concerned at the failure to create more clear-cut chances. Park Ji-sung saw a shot ricochet off Gonzalo Rodríguez and Darren Fletcher's far-post header struck Angel López but the United fans were demanding more from the Champions League holders.

Edwin van der Sar saved at the near post from Robert Pires, the former Arsenal midfielder, midway through the first half but otherwise the United defence, which included the 20-year-old Evans and Gary Neville, were rarely stretched before the break. The same could not be said for the second half, with Villarreal squandering a wonderful opportunity to seize the initiative on the hour mark.

Angel López escaped on the right before delivering a low cross that Guille Franco showed wonderful technique to flick towards goal with his right heel only for the ball to rebound off the foot of the upright. It was a reprieve for the home side and one that prompted the response from Ferguson that all United fans had hoped for as Ronaldo, cheered in unison when he warmed up moments earlier, came on to replace the ineffective Park.

He might have had an immediate impact but Tevez's cross was hammered into the ground, taking the power of the shot and enabling López to gather. A breakthrough beckoned in the 72nd minute when United produced their best attacking move of the game. Wayne Rooney ran clear on the left before adroitly releasing the unmarked Tevez who calmly slotted the ball under López only for Rodríguez, defending superbly, to hack clear on the line. Back came United again with Ronaldo nodding a Nani cross wide and Evans heading against the post. It was too little, too late.