Former Spain international David Villa came on as a second half substitute for Melbourne City FC and took only 15 minutes to score on his debut for the A-League club.

Villa received a strong ovation from both sets of supporters at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney when he came on as a substitute in the 48th minute and was well contained by the home side for most of his time on the pitch. But the striker, who is on loan from the MLS club New York City FC, received the ball from former Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff on the edge of the area in the 63rd minute, steadied himself and drilled a low, right-footed shot past Sydney goalkeeper Vedran Janetovic to level the contest at 1-1; the match would end in a draw.

Today’s match was the first of a 10-game loan spell for the former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker. Villa’s first home contest will be next week against the Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park.