THE INDIE
The most pathetic sound in football is not Ashley Cole's whining but the booing which accompanies Cristiano Ronaldo's every touch. The occupants of the Madejski Stadium, most of whom will have never seen such a richly talented footballer in the flesh, proved as small-minded and xenophobic on Saturday evening as those supporters of Manchester United's other opponents this season.
Grow up. Even if it were true that Ronaldo prompted Wayne Rooney's dismissal in the World Cup, and Rooney's loss of control was a notably more significant factor, Rooney himself has no problem with Ronaldo. As he admitted in his book, he had himself already tried to get Ronaldo sent off in Gelsenkirchen. And if an appeal to supporters' better nature does not work Graeme Murty, the man who marked Ronaldo on Saturday, offered another reason not to boo. The Reading captain said: "My advice would be to leave him alone. You'll make him angry, and you don't want to make him angry."
Anecdotal evidence suggests Murty is right. Ronaldo proved in the World Cup, when he thrashed home the winning penalty against England and then was outstanding in the semi-final against France despite being booed throughout, that he does not lack for character. His worst game this season was against Arsenal last week, the one occasion he has not been constantly jeered by opposing fans. Being booed may help him focus.
With Ryan Giggs injured and Rooney still working his way back to form Ronaldo was United's most potent threat on Saturday. He still tends to over-elaborate and too often picks the wrong option (usually a shot), but he is just 21.
THE GUARDIAN
There is no respite for Cristiano Ronaldo. Having summoned the perfect response to the vitriol hurled towards him here, he returns to his homeland tomorrow night where another hot reception awaits. English supporters will not allow the young Portuguese to forget the part he played in Wayne Rooney's sending off in the World Cup quarter-final, and Benfica fans have good cause to remember another notorious incident. On his last appearance at the Stadium of Light Ronaldo responded to incessant barracking by raising his middle finger.
A one-match ban from Uefa followed but Benfica's partisan crowd, keen to witness another Champions League victory, are likely to exact punishment of their own. How Ronaldo reacts in the face of such provocation might have concerned Sir Alex Ferguson before the World Cup but the Manchester United manager no longer has reason to lose sleep about his mercurial winger. The hostile reception that has greeted his arrival at Charlton, Watford and now Reading has brought the best out of Ronaldo.
He was outstanding on Saturday, using his full repertoire of tricks and flicks to bewitch the Reading defence before salvaging a draw for United with a sublime solo goal. He could have celebrated the strike by cupping his hand to his ear, placing a finger over his lips or running in front of the home fans who had heckled his every touch. Instead the only gesture he made was towards his team-mates, throwing his hands in the air as if to demand more from those around him.
Neither Ronaldo nor Ferguson will be naive enough to believe that Benfica fans will take heed of the Reading captain Graeme Murty's advice - "Leave him alone, for God's sake - you'll make him angry" - but there can be little doubt that the 21-year-old taking the field in Portugal tomorrow is much better equipped to deal with the invective raining down from the stands than he was in December last year. "He gets a lot of stick from the fans so he's had to become stronger," said Murty.
THE TIMES
"Our finishing was short today," Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said. "Against Arsenal, we were disappointed with our performance, but this was a good performance. When you analyse the top of the league, it's always a worry when you lose points. But at the end of the season, I think we'll look back and say this wasn't a bad result. It won't be easy to come here."
It won't. Reading stretched their unbeaten run at the Madejski Stadium to 31 matches and have taken ten points from 18 on their first campaign in the top flight. Star-struck they are not — their players have imposed a "no shirt- swapping" rule at the end of matches — and the theme is respect for their rivals, not fear.
"We spoke about it before the game and the lads decided that they wanted to have a go," Steve Coppell, the Reading manager and a former United player, said. "So we did. Only later on, when the legs were going a bit, did we have to try to stifle them."
After an absorbing first half in which United unsuccessfully peppered the home team's goal from long range and Reading counter-attacked with gusto, the match took a twist when Murty crossed with pace from the right and the ball struck the arm of Gary Neville. Kevin Doyle, who as a child slept under a United duvet, drove in the penalty via the right hand of Edwin van der Sar for his third goal of the season.
United increased the tempo, as they will need to do on their trip to play Benfica in the Champions League tomorrow evening, but had only Ronaldo's solo effort to reward them.
"Cristiano came up with a little bit of magic," Michael Carrick, the United midfield player, said. "I thought we would go on and win it."