Guardian:
‘As David Beckham can testify, Kim Milton Nielsen is not a referee to affront and Wayne Rooney found that to his cost last night after one teenage strop too many. Rooney has been a red card waiting to happen for an inordinate length of time and when it finally arrived, delivered by 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 increasingly become Rooney's forte.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson, with depressing predictability, attempted to defend the indefensible but it is inconceivable that Rooney was spared the snake-lick of his manager's tongue over this flash of temper, one that put at risk all United's hard work last night. Tellingly, Ferguson did not look at his player as he trudged past the dug-out, still cursing under his breath and shaking his head in disgust.
‘The only positive for Ferguson was that Rooney's immaturity did not lead to United surrendering a hard-earned draw. Villarreal played with passion and determination but Ferguson's players matched them to see out a potentially treacherous 26-minute spell with a man fewer. Rooney should be indebted to his team-mates for defending so stoutly as well as being particularly grateful that Marcos Senna's 89th-minute shot skimmed off the crossbar via a slight deflection from Rio Ferdinand.
‘It may not have the grandeur of the Bernabéu or the Camp Nou and, in terms of capacity, it is not even as spacious as the Riazor and 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 and the population is smaller than that of Altrincham.
‘United succeeded in subduing the home fans and, having dissected Rooney's contribution, Ferguson was entitled to reflect on a job well done.’
Independent:
‘The costliest round of applause in Wayne Rooney's career is how the Manchester United striker might come to remember his sarcastic clapping of the referee last night that earned him a red card as pointless as it was embarrassing. The gunpowder in Rooney's psyche has threatened to ignite at least once this month already and when it finally did, it could scarcely have proved more infuriating for Sir Alex Ferguson.
‘He will miss the visit of Benfica to Old Trafford in two weeks' time, and could face further punishment for refusing to leave the pitch immediately, but the wider implications for his fearsome temperament are more worrying. "He gave himself no chance with that referee," was Ferguson's assessment and he is rarely so uncompromising in his appraisal of his own player's behaviour.
‘Ferguson was pleased at, if nothing else, the manner in which his side held out in the closing stages with 10 men against a team built to attack at home. The medial ligament damage sustained by Gabriel Heinze means that United are dreadfully short of full-backs ahead of Sunday's Premiership match against Liverpool and Kieran Richardson looks likely to make his first start of the season in that position.’
Times:
‘It is only a matter of weeks since Wayne Rooney was claiming that he had “matured” as a footballer and as a person after the hotheaded days of his youth, but, seven days after his public spat with David Beckham in Belfast, he showed last night that he has not.
‘In the space of five mad seconds during Manchester United’s 0-0 draw away to Villarreal in the Champions League, the teenager was booked for a foul and then sent off after earning a second yellow card for sarcastically applauding in the face of a disdainful referee.
‘The most frustrating aspect for Ferguson, apart from the ensuing media onslaught, was that the incident ended United’s chance of winning the match and left them holding on anxiously in the closing stages. United also lost the services of Gabriel Heinze, the Argentina full back, who damaged knee ligaments and could be out for “a few weeks”, Ferguson said.’
Telegraph:
‘Wayne Rooney was sent off for a second yellow card - shown for dissent after he had been booked for a foul - by the same referee who showed the red card to England captain David Beckham against Argentina seven years ago.
‘In an interview before the match, Sir Alex Ferguson recalled once playing a 4-6-0 formation when in charge of Aberdeen and last night he finished with five midfielders and no forwards. Nevertheless, the United manager would have settled for a point before Rooney's departure and though his side maintained their record of not having won an away match in the competition proper since November 2003, this was a precious draw.
‘Of Ferguson's recent signings, few have seemed so obviously right as Van der Sar. Having spared United their first defeat in a Manchester derby at Old Trafford since 1974 with an instinctive parry from Andy Cole, he now kept his team level with something similar.
‘It would be wrong to suggest that this was the type of goal United would have conceded last season - Tim Howard was a fine shot-stopper but poor on crosses. However, it was the kind of save that emphasised what United had lacked since Peter Schmeichel left Old Trafford; a goalkeeper who inspires absolute confidence in his defence.’