Zaragoza 0 - Villarreal 0

Zaragoza: Juanmi; Pablo, Aguado, Paco, Sundgren; Toro Acuña, José Ignacio; Juanele (Ferrón 72'), Montenegro, Vellisca (Yordi 78'); Esnaider. 4-2-3-1.
Villarreal: López Vallejo; Galván, Berruet, Quique Alvarez, Arruabarrena; Jorge López, Amor, Javier Gracia, Calleja (Escoda 70'); Víctor (Craioveanu 75'), Palermo (Moisés 90'). 4-4-2.

Team changes: Zaragoza: Sundgren, José Ignacio, Montenegro, Esnaider for Cuartero, Aragón, Jamelli, Yordi / Villarreal: Galván for Xavi Roca.

Goals: None.

Juan Eduardo Esnaider's return to the Romareda stadium after almost a month out through injury was anything but rosy, as the striker was booed by his own supporters at the end of the game and ended up in an ugly incident with fans when leaving the ground. Expectations were high that Esnaider would once again inspire his team to greater things, the Argentinian having already scored eleven goals since joining in the winter, despite missing many games through injury. However the game was a dull affair, and although Esnaider set up Acuña for a shot which brushed the crossbar in the first half and brought a good save out of López Vallejo in the second half, the score remained unmoved until the end. With Zaragoza languishing down in the bottom half of the table and still not out of danger the fans started to get angry with their team, and Esnaider became the butt of their protests when he ironically applauded the crowd.

To be fair to him though he was not the only one to blame, with Montenegro unable to replace the suspended Jamelli and Vellisca not having fully shaken off a knock he received earlier in the week. Villarreal for their part were equally as bad, with Víctor Munoz's side only managing two real attemptss at goal all game, the first a shot from Víctor which Juanmi saved well, and the second near the end when Palermo wasted a chance after being set up by Jorge López. Villarreal are currently negotiating with Boca Juniors for the other half of his shared transfer rights, although he has yet to prove he is worth the asking fee. At the end of the day the point was not a bad result for either side, with Villarreal keeping in touch with Celta in the fight for the UEFA spots, and Zaragoza edging ever so slowly closer to safety. The Esnaider incident could affect them badly though, and despite an apology from the player he may not now stay next season. Hopefully everything will be forgotten by next week.