From the pre-match warm-up, which they spent gazing up at the vertiginous stands, to the flight home, on which one of the club’s senior officials threatened to sit naked as a forfeit for their heroics, this was a night that the little-known footballers of Aalborg will never forget.

They will take home a thousand memories of the evening on which they briefly led at Old Trafford and it is just a shame that for one of them, Kasper Risgard, the souvenirs came in the form of the stud marks left on his chest by Wayne Rooney.

This was one of those evenings when Manchester United had to be thankful for small mercies: thankful that qualification for the Champions League knockout stages had already been secured before last night’s match; thankful that ten points was enough to win first place in group E; and thankful, above all, that Rooney escaped immediate punishment for not one but two of those sadly frequent moments when the red mist descends.

It may prove to be a temporary reprieve, depending on how the members of Uefa’s control and disciplinary body are feeling, but, of all the occasions down the years when Rooney’s temper has got the better of him, these two — an apparent stamp on Risgard late in the first half and a bewildering lunge at Michael Jakobsen early in the second — were among the most inexplicable.

The match was played out in a spirit more akin to a testimonial game, with Aalborg enjoying every minute of their appearance on one of the biggest stages in world football. But Rooney does not and cannot play at half-pace. It is both his greatest virtue and his biggest flaw.

More on Rooney later. Let us pay tribute first to Aalborg, a team who performed with such spirit and endeavour that they earned a standing ovation from many United supporters. Allan Kuhn, for whom this was the last of 12 matches unbeaten as interim coach before making way for Magnus Pehrsson, called it the “greatest night in the club’s history”, a view shared by Lynge Jakobsen, the club’s sporting director.

Jakobsen had promised to fly home naked if Aalborg got so much as a point at Old Trafford. “He has got some problems now,” Kuhn said with a smile. “Maybe he can give some money to the team and we will let him keep his tie on.”

Even as they warmed up, there was a carefree air about Aalborg’s players. Four days after Sunderland’s spoiling tactics came within a minute of earning a draw on the same ground — an approach that Gary Neville, the United captain, described as “appalling” — here was a team content to play their own game and to hell with the consequences.

No doubt it helped that they had already secured third place, ahead of Celtic, in the group, and entry into the Uefa Cup, but, having recovered from a dreadful start, in which Carlos Tévez put United ahead after a fine combination between Ryan Giggs and Rooney, they began to look at home.

The first Aalborg goal is one that will have made Sir Alex Ferguson’s blood boil, with Martin Pedersen’s free kick glanced in by Jakobsen, whose run to the near post went unchecked by Giggs, John O’Shea and Darron Gibson. Even then Jakobsen’s header should have been kept out by Tomasz Kuszczak, who again offered no reason why he rates higher than Ben Foster when Edwin van der Sar takes one of his regular rests.

The second Aalborg goal was the result of clever, incisive football, Anders Due drifting infield from the left and floating a perfect cross that was steered past Kuszczak by the head of Jeppe Curth.

By this stage Rooney was fortunate to be on the pitch, having appeared to stamp on Risgard as the pair fell to the ground four minutes before half-time. That was a let-off for the forward, but so was the moment three minutes into the second half when, chasing an overhit pass, he lashed out at Jakobsen, raking his studs down the back of the defender’s calf. Again, Rooney was fortunate that the referee cannot have seen the incident properly.

Rooney was behaving erratically, by now under provocation from opponents who felt that they could exploit his mood, but even a loose cannon can hit the target. Set up by Anderson in the 52nd minute, he equalised with a crisp shot past Karim Zaza. When he puts his mind to it, he is one hell of a player.

Manchester United (4-4-2): T Kuszczak — G Neville (sub: Rafael Da Silva, 86min), R Ferdinand, J Evans, J O’Shea — D Gibson (sub: Park Ji Sung, 46), Anderson, R Giggs (sub: P Scholes, 46), Nani — W Rooney, C Tévez. Substitutes not used: B Foster, N Vidic, D Fletcher, R Possebon. Booked: Anderson.

Aalborg (4-5-1): K Zaza — K Bogelund, S Olfers, M Jakobsen, M Pedersen (sub: J-K Sorensen, 76) — J Curth (sub: Caca, 75), K Risgard, T Augustinussen, T Enevoldsen, A Due (sub: P Kristensen, 66) — M Saganowski. Substitutes not used: K Stenild, S Nomvethe, S Braemer, R Schwartz. Booked: Curth.

Referee: L Duhamel (France).