Villarreal labour to make their point

Olympique de Marseille 1-1 LOSC Lille Métropole

Lille returned to full strength to gain a draw at Marseille, having fielded a relative reserve side in Wednesday's French League Cup 2-0 win against AS Saint-Etienne. The visitors went into the break a goal behind against the UEFA Cup contenders following Spaniard Sergio Koke's close-range effort after 29 minutes.

Lille coach Claude Puel acted at half-time by replacing left-back Milivoje Vitakić with midfielder Geoffrey Dernis and the move paid off six minutes into the second half when Milenko Vitakić put the ball past Fabien Barthez.

"Our first half was very poor," said Puel, who remains without captain Stéphane Dumont as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. "But I was pleased with the way the team responded in the second half. I want to see that same spirit against Manchester United."

Middlesbrough FC 4-1 Manchester United FC

United suffered their heaviest league reverse in more than 18 months at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, leaving them 13 points behind Premiership leaders Chelsea FC. Their last three-goal defeat was in the derby against Manchester City FC, who won 4-1 in March 2004.

Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar misjudged a speculative Gaizka Mendieta shot in the second minute as Middlesbrough took an early lead. Defender Rio Ferdinand was outmanoeuvred by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for the second, and Ayegbeni Yakubu made it three from the penalty spot before half-time after Kieran Richardson tugged Stuart Parnaby's shirt. Mendieta added a fourth before substitute Cristiano Ronaldo headed United's 1,000th Premiership goal in low-key fashion during added time.

Gary Neville (groin), Gabriel Heinze (knee), Roy Keane (foot) and Ryan Giggs (cheekbone), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (knee) and Louis Saha (hamstring) were all out for United, while Wes Brown replaced Ferdinand as a late substitute after returning from achilles trouble.

"It was a shocking performance," said manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "We conceded some terrible goals and we can't afford do that with what we're trying to achieve. On that form, we couldn't beat anybody. Defensively, we were very disappointing. But we will get the right response all right, that is without question."

A. Naval 1º Maio 1-1 SL Benfica

Two great goals from Simão had given Benfica a 2-1 victory against Leixões SC in the Portuguese Cup at Estádio do Bessa on Wednesday but the Benfica captain later went off with a thigh injury that kept him out of Saturday's game against Naval 1º Maio. Missing his influence, Benfica were held to a draw.

Besides Simão, coach Ronald Koeman was also without goalkeepers José Moreira (knee) and Quim (groin strain), out for six months and one week respectively. Brazilian winger Geovanni was omitted due to personal problems, but Petit and Nuno Assis both returned. Léo and João Pereira replaced Simão and Geovanni.

Benfica began well but could not convert their chances, while Andrei Kariaka and Nuno Gomes faded after a bright first half as heavy rain took its toll on the pitch. Bruno Fogaça scored for Naval in the 71st minute after a fast counterattack down the right. The Portuguese champions reacted swiftly and Nuno Gomes equalised ten minutes from time, after some great work by Nélson on the right wing.

Koeman said: "We felt the absence of Simão. It is only natural. Nevertheless, we played very well and we dominated the entire match. We deserved more than just a draw, but we did not take advantage of the opportunities we created. It was difficult because of the heavy pitch."

Club Atlético de Madrid 1-1 Villarreal CF

Diego Forlán scored a last-gasp header to secure Villarreal a share of the spoils against Atlético in the Spanish capital on Sunday evening in a match which saw both teams reduced to ten men. Manuel Luis Pellegrini's side had been trailing for much of the encounter after José Zahínos had broken the deadlock on four minutes and Gonzalo Rodríguez's dismissal seven minutes later left Villarreal with a mountain to climb.

It got worse before it got better for the visitors, whose goalkeeper Sebastián Viera was forced off with a shoulder injury on the half-hour mark. Mariano Barbosa replaced him, and pulled off a series of stunning saves before Forlán clinched a late point to add to the three they picked up in the 3-2 win against Real Betis Balompié on Wednesday. Right-back Jan Kromkamp returned after missing that game in Seville, but Marcos Senna was only fit enough for a place on the bench, while Antonio Guayre remains sidelined.

Pellegrini said: "We didn't give up today. Things weren't looking good when we were 1-0 down with a one-man deficit but we introduced [Juan Manuel] Peña because the key to getting back into the game was not allowing Atlético grab a second goal. This result will provide a confidence boost for our meeting with Benfica."