Lazio 1 - Villarreal 1

Lazio: Sereni; Oddo, Negro, Siviglia, Zauri; Manfredini (Rocchi 46'), Dabo (Giannichedda 58'), Liverani, Seric (Di Canio 66'); Pandev, Simone Inzaghi. 4-4-2.
Villarreal: Reina; Javi Venta, Quique Alvarez, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Alcántara; César Arzo (Armando Sa 87'), Battaglia; Santi Cazorla (Josico 77'), Riquelme, Roger (Héctor Font 73'); José Marí. 4-2-3-1.

Goals:
0-1. 04. José Marí. Cut across front of area and struck low shot past Sereni.
1-1. 84. Rocchi. Picked up pass from Zauri and chipped shot over Reina.

Villarreal got off to a good start in their first group game, drawing 1-1 at Lazio in Italy. Manager Pellegrini had serious problems putting out a line up, especially in attack with Forlán cup-tied, Guayre and Xisco injured and Sonny Anderson already on his way to Qatar, and José Marí had to play even though he had not shaken off a bout of gastric enteritis. Youngster César Arzo came in to midfield at the last moment after Marcos Senna was given a cautionary ban by UEFA after being found positive in a drugs test during the Intertoto Cup final with Atlético.

José Marí gave the Spaniards the best possible start though when he danced through the defence and fired a low shot past Sereni. Inzaghi could have levelled the scores five minutes later after Reina spilled a long shot from Manfredini, but the keeper did enough to force the striker to shoot against the upright. Otherwise though the visitors were in control, and Cazorla and Roger both tested Sereni close to half time.

Both sides had chances in the second half without really troubling the keepers. But the game swung the Italians way a quarter of an hour from the end when José Marí retaliated after a bad tackle, German referee Michael Weiner having no doubts in sending him off. A few minutes later Zauri touched on a pass to Rocchi for him to lift the ball over the advancing Reina and level the scores. It was a pity for Villarreal, but in the end a draw was not a bad result against one of the strongest sides in their group.