SOCCER/Uefa Champions League/Villareal 0 Manchester United 0: As David Beckham can testify, Kim Milton Nielsen is not the type of referee to affront, and Wayne Rooney found that out to his cost last night.
Rooney has been a red card waiting to happen for an indecent length of time and when it finally arrived, via the same official who sent off Beckham in the 1998 World Cup, nobody can have been surprised that it emanated from the type of petulant outburst that has depressingly become his forte.
Rooney was entitled to be aggrieved with the yellow card Nielsen flourished at him after a theatrical 64th-minute tumble from the Villarreal centre-half Quique Alvarez, but his reaction can be described only as an act of stupidity. Again, Rooney's face contorted in anger as he unleashed a stream of invective towards a referee. Critically, Rooney also chose to applaud sarcastically and Nielsen promptly brought out the yellow card for the second time in 30 seconds.
Even then, the 19-year-old wanted to prolong the argument before being ushered away. The debate will rage about whether Rooney, for all his talent, is becoming a liability and the only consolation for him is that his immaturity did not lead to United surrendering. Villarreal played with passion and determination but United matched them to see out a humid evening of controversy in Castellon.
It may not have the grandeur of the Bernabeu or Camp Nou and, in terms of capacity, it is not even as spacious as the Riazor or the Mestalla, but Ferguson had been warned beforehand that, if Villarreal's fans were given any form of encouragement, their compact little stadium had some of the best acoustics in Spanish football.
This was a landmark occasion in the modest story of a distinctly unfashionable club, based in a town where tile-making is the most productive form of industry. Their first-ever foray into the Champions League had enticed over half the town to El Madrigal but Villarreal were undoubtedly hampered by the absence through injury of arguably their best player, the Argentinian playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, and the feverish start that had been anticipated from Manuel Pellegrini's team never materialised.
Instead, Ferguson's team made it to half-time with only one solitary occasion of danger, Edwin van der Sar adroitly blocking Rodolfo Arruabarrena's shot. The presence of his former colleagues seemed to have inspired Forlan into some of his old habits and, while only sporadically threatening themselves, United conjured up two presentable opportunities of their own in the opening 45 minutes.
A possible vulnerability in the Spanish defence was exposed when Mikael Silvestre's header from a Paul Scholes corner brought a splendid save from the Uruguayan goalkeeper Mario Sebastian Viera but it was the moment, four minutes before the interval, that will have pained the visiting players most. After Viera had fumbled Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick, the ball ricocheted off Ruud van Nistelrooy and seemed to be looping over the goal-line. Van Nistelrooy could have made sure with the slightest touch but, just as the striker was about to pounce, Gonzalo Rodriguez acrobatically cleared the ball with an overhead kick.
Gabriel Heinze left the field after little more than half an hour, the Argentinian being replaced by Kieran Richardson after landing awkwardly in a challenge with Jan Kromkamp, but the United manager was entitled to be enamoured by their solidity in defence, especially with this being the beginning of a three-week period, possibly longer, in which Roy Keane's hamstring strain will ensure his absence.
Since reverting to a deeper role, Alan Smith has been neat and efficient but Ferguson is overly optimistic to believe a converted striker will fill Keane's boots. The same could not be said of Rooney, who had looked the most potent of United's attackers until his costly fit of pique. His absence left Van Nistelrooy isolated up front. Forlan, on the other hand, was left to reflect on what might have been.
A weighted pass put him clear behind United's defence. He opted for a first-time shot - and missed. No wonder he remains a favourite at Old Trafford.
VILLARREAL: Viera, Kromkamp, Rodriguez, Quique Alvarez, Arruabarrena, Hector Font (Roger 70), Josico (Tacchinardi 45), Senna, Sorin, Forlan, Guayre (Figueroa 66). Subs not used: Barbosa, Santi Cazorla, Pena, Valencia. Booked: Rodriguez, Kromkamp.
MANCHESTER UTD: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze (Richardson 33), Fletcher, Scholes, Smith, Ronaldo (Giggs 80), van Nistelrooy (Park 80), Rooney. Subs not used: Howard, Miller, Bardsley, Pique. Sent off: Rooney (65). Booked: Richardson, Smith, Rooney.
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark).
