Manchester United 0 v 0 Villareal
Old Trafford, Manchester
22nd November 2005
Manchester United's Quest in Europe could be coming to a disasterous close. Having failed to score away from hom for 12 months in Europe, United have also failed to score at home, with only two goals scored so far in this whole campaign!
It wasn't that United didn't want the victory - Wayne Rooney amongst others came bursting out of the stalls and ready to blast a few goals in, but that United were unlucky, and lost the battle tactically.
With Scholes, Smith and Fletcher proving ineffectual against the Villareal Argentinean midfield, Fergie missed a trick. For some reason, we granted them all the space, when in reality Rio, et al, should have been pressing hard on the attackers to set Smith and his fellow midfielders free to battle with the opposition midfield rather than try to mark Figeroa out of the game.
Rooney's early run into the box needed a good save from Barbosa, whilst his driving shots, one early in the game and one late on, would surely have beaten the keeper, had they been aimed marginally better.
Ronaldo was effectively taken out of the game, being jumped by three markers each time he received the ball. On many occassions he did well, and managed to beat a couple and create space for O'Shea or Scholes, but he also gave away the ball a touch too often, which didn't engaciat him to the United fans.
Gary Neville's arrival on 70 minutes, as well as that of Saha ten minutes later, proved that we are starting to regain our full-strength, with only Gabe out long-term, and heavily missed.
The 0-0 leaves United needing a win in their last game against Benfica in Lisbon. Should Villareal beat Lille, we can even get away with a draw, but its surely far too nail-biting to try and hold out for that!
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Neville 73), Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea, Fletcher (Park 53), Smith (Saha 81), Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, van Nistelrooy.
Subs Not Used: Howard, Richardson, Pique, Rossi.
Booked: Silvestre, Scholes, van Nistelrooy.
Villarreal: Barbosa, Javi Venta, Rodriguez, Pena, Arruabarrena, Roger (Hector Font 65), Tacchinardi (Josico 77), Senna, Sorin, Figueroa (Xisco Nadal 86), Jose Mari.
Subs Not Used: Viera, Arzo, Kromkamp, Santi Cazorla.
