You could have been forgiven for thinking United had scored, such was the noise when Cristiano Ronaldo stripped off his tracksuit and entered the fray against Villarreal on Wednesday evening.

After a summer dominated by question marks over the no.7’s future, the Portuguese winger pulled on a red shirt for the first time since May’s Champions League final.

Some press reports predicted Cristiano would be booed by the United faithful, but Sir Alex says he was always confident the 23-year-old would get a warm welcome.

“Don’t forget, these supporters have enjoyed Ronaldo for five years at this club and he’s showed great loyalty and commitment every time he puts that jersey on,” the United boss told MUTV.

“I wasn’t surprised by the cheers but I think it would have been a great encouragement to the boy.

“I imagine he’ll have been relieved a little bit – perhaps he was a little apprehensive before the match, wondering what kind of reception he was going to get. Deep down I knew he’d be welcomed back.”

Ronaldo didn’t disappoint, even if his trademark trickery couldn't conjure the goal United craved.

He immediately set about beating opponents with the ball at his feet. Ronny carved open the Spanish defence to play in Wayne Rooney (who then fed Carlos Tevez, whose shot was cleared off the line), crossed for Jonny Evans to head against the woodwork, and was unlucky not to score himself with a header at the back post.