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Villa penalty earns Barca draw in Russia

Lionel Messi returned to the Barcelona side fo0llowing injury in the 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan.
Lionel Messi returned to the Barcelona side fo0llowing injury in the 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Barcelona draw 1-1 at Rubin Kazan in Champions League Group D match
  • David Villa levels with a penalty after Christian Noboa put Rubin ahead from the spot
  • Panathinaikos with play Copenhagen in the other Group D encounter on Wednesday
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(CNN) -- A second-half penalty from David Villa proved enough to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Rubin Kazan in Group D of the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Spanish international striker scored from the spot on the hour mark after Andres Iniesta was fouled by Lasha Salukvadze in the penalty area.

Russian champions Rubin had themselves taken the lead from the penalty spot after half-an-hour, when Ecuadorian midfielder Christian Noboa lashed the ball past Victor Valdes after Daniel Alves was adjudged to have fouled Vitaly Kaleshin.

With Lionel Messi back in the side after recovering from an ankle injury, the Spanish champions pressed for a winning goal and the Argentine nearly provided it, only for goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov to block his 71st minute shot.

However, it was the hosts who nearly snatched all three points late on when Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins hit the post with a close-range header.

Meanwhile, in the other Group D match, Danish champions Copenhagen claimed a superb 2-0 win at Panathinaikos, courtesy of goals from Martin Vingaard and Dame N'Doye, to lead the table with a maximum six points from their two matches.

Barcelona are second on four points while Greek side Panathinaikos, who played most of the second half with 10 men following the dismissal of Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva, are bottom of the group having lost both of their matches.

Meanwhile, in Group C, British sides Manchester United and Rangers both claimed vital 1-0 wins on Wednesday to lead the table with four points apiece.

United came away from the Mestalla in Valencia with a superb late win courtesy of a breakaway goal from Mexican international striker Javier Fernandez.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, Steven Naismith sidefooted home a header from Kirk Broadfoot to see off Turkish side Bursaspor, who are bottom of the table with no points from their two matches.