Super-sub Ikechukwu Uche came off the bench to a seal a point for Villarreal as they drew 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening Europa League Group A encounter.
The striker was thrown on just after the hour mark and scored with his first touch of the game to cancel out Patrick Herrmann's first half opener, meaning both sides left with a share of the spoils.
Denis Cheryshev went agonisingly close to giving Marcelino's men the lead in the 20th minute, scampering through on goal before being denied brilliantly by a sprawling Yann Sommer.
Merely a minute later, however, Herrmann drew first blood, firing home with his left foot after being teed up by good work from 21-year-old Branimir Hrgota on the edge of the penalty area.
The former could have doubled Gladbach's lead just before the half-time break after Sergio Asenjo failed to clear a deflected effort from Max Kruse.
With the goalkeeper at his mercy, the Swedish forward could only place a finish onto the ankle of the Spanish shot- stopper, which in turn looped wide.
Chances were few and far between in the second half, before Cheryshev spurned another gilt-edged opportunity just before the hour mark. Cani picks out Moi Gomez at the back post brilliantly, who cushioned a pass in towards the penalty spot for the Russian – who blasted horribly over from close range.
On 65 minutes, Luciano Vietto saw a goal ruled out for offside, as the hosts rode their luck, but substitute Ikechukwu Uche was to have his say three minutes later.
Poking home a Manu Trigueros through ball with his first touch, the Nigerian striker's goal was his only contribution, as a clash with Sommer left him unable to continue immediately after his finish restored parity.
As the contest edged into stoppage time, the linesman seemed to flag to award Gladbach a penalty for handball by Moi Gomez - but referee Ivan Kruzliak overturned his fellow official despite being unsighted.
The Yellow Submarine will be very pleased with a point, profiting from the mere 20 seconds Uche spent on the field of play, but missed chances from Hrgota will leave Favre's men wondering quite how they didn't manage to kill the contest off earlier.
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