Ronaldo laughs off boo-boys

Oxford United 1 Manchester United 4

Cristiano Ronaldo laughed off the boo-boy taunts at the Kassam Stadium and began a nine-month charm offensive in the best manner possible.

If the reception he received at Conference outfit Oxford is any guide, the Portugal winger may require a pair of ear plugs at some of the Premiership’s more hostile venues this season.

Jeered every time he touched the ball during his first 72-minute outing since his combustible appearance at the World Cup, Ronaldo will start the new campaign knowing he has few friends outside the confines of Old Trafford.

But, while happy to abuse, true football fans also recognise world-class talent and the vast majority in an 11,463-strong crowd stood to applaud when Ronaldo bent home a brilliant 14th-minute volley.

With no histrionics, and few of his trademark tricks, this was Ronaldo on his best behaviour, eager not to antagonise the home supporters any more than he had to.

Much had been made of Ronaldo’s return, 38 days since he helped get Wayne Rooney sent off and fired home the penalty which knocked England out of the World Cup.

In truth, the security concerns expressed over the former Sporting Lisbon star appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

There were no police inside the stadium at all and, while the number of safety officers present had been beefed up, it was only in response to the arrival of a United side containing nine internationals rather than the reserve team which had originally been expected when the fixture was agreed a couple of months ago.

Even the boos were more routine than venomous and the 21-year-old felt relaxed enough to offer team-mate Kieran Richardson a broad grin as he ran out for the second half.

By then, Ronaldo had already made a healthy impact.

The contest was only six minutes old when he touched a pass to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer inside the Oxford box which allowed the veteran striker to blast a shot into the roof of the net.

Ronaldo’s opener followed not that long afterwards. It was Louis Saha, also making his first appearance since heartbreakingly missing the World Cup final through suspension, who provided the cushioned lay-off to Phil Bardsley’s cross.

The right-foot finish was exquisite, starting off wide of Turley’s far post before curling in.

Darren Fletcher added another two minutes later and while Robert Duffy powered home a far-post header before the break, Ronaldo quickly restored United’s three-goal lead after half-time.

Yet again, the finish was right-footed, curling a shot into the bottom corner this time after David Jones had fed him with a short pass.

There was to be no hat-trick, even though Ronaldo was pushed into a more orthodox striker’s role until he was replaced by Giuseppe Rossi.

He departed to a hero’s reception from the United support and a mixed one from the Oxford fans, receiving handshakes from Ferguson and home boss Jim Smith before taking his place in the dug-out, content at his positive contribution.

In fact, after the disasters which afflicted them in Amsterdam over the weekend, it was a good night all round for the visitors.

Saha and Mikael Silvestre completed the full 90 minutes and Gabriel Heinze lasted just short of an hour, while young midfielder David Jones also impressed.

So too did goalkeeper Ben Foster, although with West Brom’s Tomasz Kuszczak set to arrive at Old Trafford within the next 48 hours, Foster’s next outing seems certain to mark the start of a second season on loan at Watford.