Lokomotiv Moscow 0 - Rayo Vallecano 0

Rayo: Keller; Alcázar (Bolo 46'), De Quintana, Ballesteros, Mingo; Mauro, Poschner, Pablo Sanz, Michel (Setvalls 88'); Quevedo, Bolic (Iván Iglesias 75'). 4-4-2.

Goals: None.

In a game played in inhumane conditions, with temperatures seventeen degrees below zero, Rayo Vallecano continued their triumphal debut in European competitions. Club president Teresa Rivero had said in an unguarded moment that Rayo will continue on in the competition until they meet Liverpool, and so far the draw has not paired them together. Once again Juande Ramos brought in keeper Kasey Keller for the European tie, and Mauro got a rare start on the right, with Poschner returning from another one of his suspensions to partner Pablo Sanz in the centre of midfield.

The pitch was in atrocious conditions, with snow piled up around the ground and the surface treacherous, and Rayo were lucky not to go behind at the end of the first half when Kharlatchev hit the post, but Bolic too could have scored before the half time whistle went. The cold was getting too much for some of the players, one or two of which had decided not to wear gloves, and a makeshift bonfire was lit in the dressing room at half time using cotton wool and alcohol.

The entry of Bolo in the second half gave Bolic the support he needed and Rayo got the ball in the net, only to see Belgian referee Erin Romen disallow it for an offside by the Bosnian, despite the fact that the last player to touch the ball was Russian. In the last minute Rayo were let off the hook again when Keller dived low to tip Tcherevtchenko's header on to post, and that was the end of the match. The result leaves the Madrid based team with a good chance of going through to the last 16, although they must be careful not to concede a goal in Vallecas in a fortnight's time. Right now they were just happy to reach the relative warmth of the dressing room, hoping to have thawed out in time for Sunday's match at Bilbao.