The visitors took the initiative in this one, though it was a lively start from both sides in a magnificent atmosphere at El Sardinero, which was witnessing a LaLiga fixture for the first time in 5,208 days.
Georges Mikautadze’s two shots on target in the opening 10 minutes came to nothing, and with less than a quarter hour played, Pedro Felipe’s debut for Racing was over when he succumbed to a hamstring injury.
In an all-action opening, the official awarded the hosts a penalty when Jorge Salinas was felled, and Andres Martin sent Luiz Junior the wrong way to bag the opener.
That appeared to be the catalyst for Racing to go on the front foot, with Gustavo Puerta particularly impressive.
Just after the 30-minute mark, a stunning long-range effort from debutant Sergio Martinez found the top corner, and it was no more than the hosts deserved.
The Yellow Submarine were offering little in attack, and when a chance did present itself, Renato Veiga’s misguided header meant it came to nothing.
As half-time approached, however, Pape Gueye’s left-footed daisy cutter from outside the box completely changed the mood and, incredibly, within a minute, Nicolas Pepe hammered home a magnificent curled finish to bring the Submarine level.
Despite this setback, Racing came flying out of the blocks after the break, with Alvaro Mantilla, Canales and Martin all seeing efforts go begging.
Villarreal came storming back with Ayoze Perez and Santiago Mourino going close, and with an hour gone the game had settled into a back-and-forth between both sides.
Pepe had another chance to let fly from distance, but this time his shot had much less venom than his earlier effort.
As the match entered its final stages, it became very scrappy as both teams began to tire.
A late header from Yassir Zabiri could’ve caused problems for Luiz Junior before he palmed the ball to safety, and it was the last chance of note in a game that ended with both sides looking like they were happy with a point apiece.
After 14 years, Racing can be pleased with that point, which extends the unbeaten league H2H record against Villarreal to four (W1, D3), whilst the visitors’ poor road form continues into the new campaign as they have won only one of their last eight LaLiga away trips (D4, L3).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pape Gueye (Villarreal)
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