Celta go in to the 2nd leg in pole position after a 1-1 draw on a freezing Moscow evening against Spartak. The Vigo side put in a battling performance in difficult conditions for them, taking the lead late on in the first half. Spartak's tactical adjustments saw much of the second half go their way, an equaliser eventually coming from a set piece. But the Vigo team were perhaps the better side for most of the game, particularly in their swift defending. Up front, Nunez repaid his manager's faith with a goal, but Baiano, slightly injured and not starting, showed his worth coming off the bench later on. With Spartak having the bulk of the possession, one might assume they were the better side, but in fact the home team struggled to create much of note and must be considered underdogs for the second leg.

The Moscow side had the bulk of the early possession, but did not have an abundance of chances. Stranzl came close early on following a corner, as did Pavluchenko from a long range effort. But Celta were generally marking their opponents out of the game, and with Canobbio and Iriney (unlucky not to score himself) pulling the strings in midfield, they were also first to score. Celta took the lead after a well-worked move on the left flank saw Gustavo Lopez free the excellent Canobbio up the wing. The Argentinian sprinted past the bumbling Spartak defence and cut the ball back to the onrushing Nunez inside the box. Nunez actually failed to control the ball first time but, as he was unmarked, had a second to regain composure and shoot low under the 'keeper into the bottom right. It was a clean finish, but what a dreadful goal to concede from Spartak's point of view; the defence was far too concentrated in one part of the area and Nunez's finish from the middle of the box was preventable. But despite the earlier worries, Celta were 1-0 up at half time.

Spartak's coach Fedotov clearly saw that change was needed, and duly introduced Boyarintsev and Bazhenov for the unimpressive Bystrov and Torbinsky. Up front, Stranzl again missed a header, but tested the keeper this time. But the eventual Spartak goal didn't come from a well-worked attacking move or open play; rather, it was from a set-piece. Maxym Kalinichenko lined up a free kick on the edge of the area; his floated right-footed effort took a bizarre deflection off the wall and left Esteban completely helpless: 1-1. Celta had struggled a bit in the second half and continued to do so until the introduction of Baiano and, later, the very impressive Oubina. These two defended from the front as Spartak put the pressure on, Boyarintsev testing the ‘keeper, but indeed the visitors may have snatched the win on the stroke of full time. After having a shot saved earlier, Baiano knocked a close-range header over the bar with just seconds of stoppage time left to be played. Spartak had been let off the hook; 1-1 it finished.

This was a largely combative tie, and a draw was perhaps the fair result. Celta gave a good account of themselves in difficult conditions, and one could argue that their players are simply better, but if Spartak had maintained their concentration, the result could have been different. However, with Celta narrowly ahead going into the second leg, los Celtinas will be confident of progression to the next round. For Spartak, a team that found itself closed down effectively by Celta at home, one wonders how they will hope with having to take the initiative in a game in which they must score. However, if Celta panic, as they did for a portion of the second half, anything is possible.