By Xinhua
Madrid : Catalan giants Barcelona were held to a disappointing golless draw against 10-man Racing Santander in the first round of the Spanish first division.
New signing Thierry Henry entered as a 62nd-minute substitute for Lionel Messi but the former Arsenal striker’s presence alongside Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o created few scoring chances for Barcelona in Sunday’s clash.
Barcelona was handed an advantage in the 68th minute when Poland striker Euzebiusz Smolarek earned a red card on his club debut.
All newly promoted teams won in the first round of league play.
Almeria won at Deportivo la Coruna 3-0 and Valladolid defeated Espanyol 1-0 in Barcelona, a day after Murcia upset UEFA Cup qualifier Real Zaragoza 2-1.
American-born striker Giusepe Rossi converted a penalty while Jon Dahl Tomasson and Santiago Cazorla added the others to lead Villarreal over 10-man Valencia 3-0 at the Mestalla Stadium.
Striker David Villa was sent off in the 40th minute with his team trailing 1-0 after receiving his second yellow card.