Kazan, Russia - Russian champions Rubin Kazan managed to hold the Champions League holders Barcelona to a goalless draw in their Group F match played in Kazan on Wednesday. Playing the Champions League match in bitterly cold conditions with temperatures well below the freezing point, the visitors dominated proceedings most of the game, but failed to create any real chances.
A capacity crowd of 30,000 in the Central Stadium in Kazan, saw Aleksandr Ryazantsev force Victor Valdes make a good save from Rubins' only real chance of the first half.
Sergei Ryzhikov in goal for Rubin also managed to pull off a number of saves, most notably from Andres Iniesta in the first half.
The second half continued much like the first, with Kazan, who stunned Barcelona 2-1 in Spain in their last match, playing with seven or eight at the back and waiting for breaks.
French international Thierry Henry came on late in the second half as Barcelona attempted to break the deadlock, but the striker only had one half-chance as defenders failed to clear the ball, but Henry managed only to chest it into the arms of Ryzhikov.
The result sees Barcelona top the group with five points, from Kazan, who also have five. Dynamo Kiev, who have four points from their three matches, could go top of the group if they manage to beat Inter Milan in the later match on Wednesday.
