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Wayne Rooney Bad Form
Steve McClaren could have been forgiven a stab of concern as he left the Stadium of Light in Lisbon late on Tuesday night.
The England coach has suffered before at the home of Benfica where, as the national team's No 2, he lost a Euro 2004 quarterfinal against Portugal.
And he must have been a little uncomfortable again as he watched Wayne Rooney labour uncharacteristically for Manchester United.
Four games into his return from suspension and Rooney is struggling like never before in a United shirt.
Just a week before he reports for Euro 2008 qualifying duty, the striker is short of touch, instinct and, unusually, confidence.
United won 1-0 in Lisbon to sit on top of Champions League Group F, but they did so almost entirely without the help of their star player.
Marooned on the left hand side of Sir Alex Ferguson's 4-2-3-1 formation, Rooney was substituted towards the end of a performance that even saw him chastised by team-mates for perhaps the first time during his time at Old Trafford.
However, at United there is no sense of panic and nor should there be. Rooney's levels of performance have been so high since he arrived at the club from Everton two years ago that any dip will immediately be noticeable.
Yesterday team-mate Rio Ferdinand spoke of the 20-year-old's determination to actually reach new peaks this season.
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