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Sydney - Spanish World Cup winner David Villa rescued a point for Melbourne City with a slick goal on his Australian A-League debut to grab a 1-1 draw with Sydney FC on Saturday.
Spain's all-time leading goalscorer scored a superb equaliser 15 minutes after coming on as a second half sub in his first outing in a 10-game loan from New York City.
Villa came inside a defender and swept home a volley off a pass from former Ireland international Damien Duff to give his A-League sojourn a flying start before he returns to the Major League Soccer in late December.
Villa, 32, was the first major signing announced by Melbourne since they were bought by English Premier League giants Manchester City earlier this year.
The Spanish great, whose 97th and final international was against Australia at this year's Brazil World Cup, ranks along with Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero as the biggest signing in the 10 years of the A-League.
Sydney FC had gone ahead in the 54th minute through Corey Gameiro but Villa equalised for Melbourne City nine minutes later.
Duff also caught the eye in his first A-League game on the right wing and was impressed with the playing standard.
"I think we deserved more out of the game tonight, I think we were the better team but getting the point after going one-nil down I think fair enough," Duff said.
"I've been playing at a fast pace for 20 years so it's tough, but I enjoyed every minute of it."
