El Submarino Amarillo were without Giuseppe Rossi, Nihat, and Jozy Altidore while Michael Carrick (injured) and Paul Scholes (suspended) did not feature for the Red Devils.
A youthful United outfit featured Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez upfront, while Nani and Park Ji Sung played on the wings as Cristiano Ronaldo looked on from the bench.
The Red Devils started out positively, Rio Ferdinand's cross-shot perfectly dissecting Carlos Tevez and Darren Fletcher.
Nani struck a fierce shot at Diego Lopez on ten minutes, which was parried away for a corner.
Manchester United had ample opportunities within the first half-hour, as Carlos Tevez's long range effort was tipped over the bar and Rooney's low volley was skied into the stands.
Park Ji Sung, who is returning from injury, created problems for the Villarreal defense and he was denied a clear penalty in the first half after being taken down by Sebastian Eguren.
Park continued to make runs into the box and was denied another spotkick after being taken out by Joan Capdevila.
I was bemused by Manuel Pellegrini's worried face, which made him look like an Arsene Wenger look-alike.
The Spaniards were unable to create a decent scoring opportunity in the first half as Mati Fernandez barely got hold of possession.
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires had a dart at Van der Sar's net, but the effort was snapped up by the seasoned Dutch stopper.
Villarreal hoped to return with a vengance in the second half as Santi Cazorla was immediately brought on for Cani.
Guillermo Franco hit United's upright with a cheeky back-heeled effort which silenced the United crowd.
Then came the moment which the Old Trafford faithful had waited for, the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, amidst roars of expectation and excitement.
The Portuguese winger replaced Park as Owen Hargreaves, who earlier tried to do a "Gerrard whip" only to power it over the bar, was replaced by Anderson.
Ronaldo's presence brought a rejuvenated energy into the Red Devils as the wing backs, Gary Neville, and Patrice Evra started to make runs down the wings creating problems for Villarreal.
It would be unfair not to mention Jonny Evans, the youngster came in for Vidic and, after an impressive show alongside Ferdinand, looks set to start against Chelsea on Sunday.
Ronaldo started out with a run on the left wing and he found Rooney straight ahead, the stocky Englishman carefully picked out Carlos Tevez in the box and the Argentine had the better of Diego Lopez only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Gonzalo.
Tevez really should have scored, and the crowd was left dumbstruck.
Ronaldo could've had the perfect return but a dipping cross from Nani was headed inches wide, despair!
However, it was Ronaldo then who powered in a cross to the far post as Jonny Evans hit the woodwork, which summed up United's night of misfortune.
Manchester United could've won it 4-0 on any other day but the Red Devils must live with a stalemate and there's no time to groan considering Chelsea host United on Sunday.
It was a relatively decent performance considering United came into the game at the back of a defeat to Liverpool.
Dimitar Berbatov did not feature but Sir Alex Ferguson was in a optimistic mood:
"We made a lot of good chances, we played really good football, we played with speed," the United manager said.
"It's over to Sunday and I'm confident that goals will start to flow."
United's lack of goals has been a concern as the Red Devils have managed only four goals since there 1-1 draw with Newcastle on the opening day of the season.
Elsewhere, Arsenal were also held to a draw, 1-1 against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine.
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