Match Report: Manchester United vs Villareal (2005)

Manchester United-0
Villarreal-0Tuesday 22nd November 2005

In the wake of Roy Keane's departure the rebuilding of an already vulnerable empire had to begin immediately yesterday to dispatch any post Keane nerves.

It seemed Ferguson’s prayers would be answered as United opened at a blistering pace, in the 3rd minute Rooney tamed a Ronaldo cross and wrong-footed Rodriguez but his effort landed in the arms of Barbosa. Rooney had several more chances in the first ten minutes and Ronaldo came close as his header from a corner crazed the bar but still they failed to break Villarreal, who stood ready to fight or rather defend as their only threat to the United end came when the usually calm Van Der Sar nearly had a miss-kick intercepted 18 yards out in a Barthez-esque moment.

The absence of Villarreal’s Riquelme should have acted as a blessing to United, however instead it acted as a disadvantage as Manuel Pellegrini’s team barricaded United in with a conservative approach.

The tempo of the game subsided considerably in the second half. Glimmers of the old United could be seen with Ronaldo weaving in and out of the defence however they lacked the final touch and as the chances went by and Villarreal still stood unscathed tempers began to rise causing a windfall of yellow cards and a fracas in the 61st minute.

United lacked a holding player in midfield, while Scholes showed signs of his old devilry and Smith is hungry for such a role both failed to deliver. For all United’s dominance their chances were intermittent resulting in Ferguson bringing on Park Ji Sung, despite an early chance in the box even his contribution seemed minimal.

United did show signs of sparking a revival but were mostly demoted to futile chasing while Sorin caused problems, resulting in a 79th minute free-kick which Senna sent dipping over the United wall causing a smart save from Van Der Sar.

Enthusiasm was fleetingly on the rise when Gary Neville appeared, but even that diminished quickly as Villarreal proved insurmountable. In the closing seconds United were awarded a free kick just outside the box, in their glory days this would have promoted hope, however Van Nistelrooy’s attempt barely left the ground before hitting the wall.

United now sway dangerously close to an early exit and must now beat Benfica. Yet Ferguson stayed optimistic — “We’ve done it before in these situations,” however it is now questionable whether these words can act to deploy lingering feelings of fear around old Trafford.