Iran's Masoud Shojaei came off the bench to win Osasuna a penalty, which was then converted by his fellow Iranian, Javad Nekounam, in Osasuna's first match of the season against Villarreal, which ended 1-1.
goal.com
It was Iran 1 Villareal 1 on the opening weekend of the Spanish season as the Iranian duo of Javad Nekounam and Masoud Shojaei combined to help club side Osasuna come back to earn a point.
With the Pamplona outfit trailing to a Marcus Senna strike, Shojaei came off the bench on the hour to replace Kiki Sola and make his league debut alongside compatriot Nekounam.
Nekounam spent much of last season injured on the sidelines.
Just nine minutes after his introduction to La Liga, Shojaei was brought down in the penalty area by Deigo Godin.
Nekounam stepped up to blast the spot kick past Deigo Lopez and in to the bottom left corner of the Villareal net.
With mixed fortunes in the Bundesliga for Iran's legionnaires, the news will be welcome for Iran boss Ali Daei ahead of next weekend's World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia.
After the game, Osasuna boss Cuco Ziganda said, "It was a fair result. We're satisfied with our day's work and we managed a point against a rival of infinite quality.
"It's hard to play against such a serious, orderly side."
The former Athletic Bilbao striker continued, "Substitutions gave us lots of life. The spark was phenomenal, and that's great for competition among the squad."
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