Maribor strike late to vex Villarreal

Last season's UEFA Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal CF are fighting for their lives in European competition after a surprising 2-1 defeat against NK Maribor in the opening leg of their UEFA Intertoto Cup third-round tie.

Villarreal debutants
Manuel Pellegrini's side fell to a late goal from Rene Mihelič, and had to play 43 minutes with ten men after defender Josemi was sent off. Although they were without Argentinian FIFA World Cup stars Juan Román Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorín, Villarreal fielded a strong lineup including debutants Robert Pirès and Nihat Kahveci. However, the Spanish side lacked rhythm and fluency in their first competitive outing of the 2006/07 season and fell behind five minutes before half-time.

Rakič free-kick
Maribor playmaker Milan Rakič struck a free-kick from range that bounced awkwardly in front of goalkeeper Mariano Barbosa and sneaked in. A tough task got even harder for the home side when former Liverpool FC full-back Josemi was shown a straight red card by the Dutch referee Kevin Blom. Diego Forlán appeared to have got Villarreal out of jail in the 71st minute, but Mihelič struck with seven minutes remaining to leave the Slovenian side needing just a draw from the home leg next Saturday to pull off a major upset and reach the UEFA Cup.