Partizan Belgrade 0 - Real Madrid 0

Partizan: Pantic; Nenad Djordjevic, Bajic, West; Savic, Duljaj, Nadj (Drulovic 67'), Malbasa (Rzasa 19'); Sasa Ilic; Iliev, Delbasic (Stojanoski 46'). 3-4-1-2.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Michel Salgado, Pavón, Raúl Bravo, Roberto Carlos (Guti 11'); Beckham, Iván Helguera; Figo, Raúl, Zidane; Ronaldo. 4-2-3-1.

Goals: None.

Group F :
Real Madrid............ 10 points
Porto............................ 7 points
O. Marseille............... 3 points
Partizan Belgrade... 2 points

Real Madrid are the first team to qualify for the next round of the competition after they drew 0-0 at Partizan Belgrade and Porto beat Marseille in the other group match. It was not a game they will want to remember though, and only another great performance by Casillas ensured a point. Lothar Matthüs's side surprised the Spaniards right from the start, and Malbasa twice and Iliev all went close with efforts from left of goal early on. And Casillas was called upon to push another effort from Iliev around the post soon afterwards.

Queiroz had to reorganize his side when Roberto Carlos pulled a hamstring taking a free kick, with Guti coming in to midfield, Iván Helguera dropping back to central defence and Raúl Bravo taking over at left back, and it took them some time to settle. However Ronaldo should have put his side in front when the defence gifted him the ball, but Pantic stuck out a foot to clear his low shot. And the young keeper was in the right place a few minutes later to block a first time volley from Raúl.

The Serbs though were still looking the most likely to score, and Casillas somehow managed to get his body in the way of a shot on the far post from Delibasic just before the break. But Madrid came back strongly in the second half, and Pantic had to be at his best to save from Figo and then Zidane. And once again Ronaldo got through after a quick passing move, but the ball bobbled in front of him and he shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Mathhäus brought on Drulovic with a quarter of the game to go, and he shot wide when free in front of Casillas. The best chance of the match though fell to Iliev after Casillas could only block a deflected shot, but the keeper recovered quickly enough to put the striker off and force him to shoot wide from two yards out. And Casillas was there again in the final moments to make a double save and earn his side the point they needed to go through to the last sixteen.