Aalborg Give United a Seasonal Headache

Manchester United topped their Champions League Group ahead of Villarreal after a 2-2 draw with Danish club Aalborg at Old Trafford.

Goals from Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney either side of headers by Michael Jakobsen and Jeppe Curth salvaged the point for the reigning European Champions who had ample chances to take all three on a night of frustration for Carlos Tevez in particular.

The Argentine has been given a run in the United side in the Champions' domestic and European Cup games.

The striker knew every chance he was given he had to take full advantage of, as opportunities in games had been limited due to the signing of Dimitar Berbatov.

Yesterday evening however Tevez took just one of these, as chance after chance came his way, of which none he could convert.

However not all the blame can be placed at Tevez's door, as the unorthodox side put out by Sir Alex Ferguson left a lot to be desired.

Darren Gibson and Ryan Giggs went missing for almost the entire first half and only lasted 45 minutes as they were replaced by Ji Sung Park and Paul Scholes.

Even captain Gary Neville was replaced with 15 minutes to go by Rafael, following the theme that Ferguson has gone by all season.

These changes did nothing to improve United's hopes though and several factors saw Aalborg come away with a deserved point.

To Aalborg's credit they defended valiantly in the second half and not many sides would have come out like they did in the first and take the game to one of Europe's elite.

The importance of this game should be considered however, finishing first was important but not 100 percent necessary for United as the draw in the second round would be tough either way.

The side put out reflected the importance of the match to the Scot, with the hectic Christmas period on it's way a chance to rest a few players would have come as a welcome relief.

However the side still produced 11 internationals, and definitely a team capable of overcoming such a team as Aalborg.

The ability to waste chance after chance was awful on United's part, but in keeping with the beginning of there wretched season in-front of goal.

We saw a very similar theme on Saturday, and had Nemanja Vidic not popped up with the winner we would be talking about the issue far more.

The Emirates was another venue of United wastefulness in front of goal, as opportunities fell the way of many of United's star studded front-line but to no success.

This petulance in front of goal is sure to worry many United fans, as there clinical nature was one the big successes of last season.

And with Tevez trying to stake a claim in the side, and at the club, these misses will not go down well with the manager.

Everyone says you would rather be missing chances than not getting any at all but at the moment it's getting beyond a joke for this United side, who seem to have plenty of style without any real substance.

Ferguson has to pull his attackers together if he wants to be fighting for trophies on four fronts in the new year, something that looks less likely at the half way point.