Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk of Ukraine will take a slender lead into their Europa League semi-final second leg after claiming an away goal in a one-all draw at Italian giants Napoli.
David López looked to have secured a narrow win for the hosts as he headed home a near-post corner early in the first half, but late substitute Yevhen Seleznyov scored with his first touch of the match to level things up.
Rafa Benítez selected an unchanged side from that which beat AC Milan 3-0 at the weekend, with Gonzalo Higuaín leading the line having scored in the 4-1 destruction of Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Dnipro, meanwhile, made seven changes from their last game, also a 3-0 victory over Chornomorets in the Ukrainian league. Former Blackburn forward Nikola Kalinić, who scored twice in that game, was deployed alone up-front.
Despite the prospect of a crucial away goal, Dnipro showed little attacking intent early on as the hosts dominated the opening period of the match. José Callejón and Mario Gómez missed half-chances while Christian Maggio's went down too easily following a good run down the right as his work came to nothing.
The Partenopei almost had the goal their early play merited with ten minutes on the clock as Lorenzo Insigne hit the woodwork from long range. The ball dropped to him perfectly 25 yards from goal and the Italy forward thumped a half-volley towards goal, but it dipped onto the outside of the post and went wide.
However, there was not an abundance of chances in the first-half as Dnipro sat back and absorbed pressure, with Kalinić cutting a lonesome figure up front. The Ukrainians' star man Yevhen Konoplyanka exhibited some flashes of promise from the wings but there was little in the way of creative ingenuity up front, and the two sides went in goalless after a dour first half.
Though the second-half looked to be starting in much the same vein as the first had ended, Napoli took the lead with just five minutes played. With open-play chances few and far between, Marek Hamšík delived a superb corner towards the near post where López was on hand to nod the ball past midfielder Valeriy Fedorchuk on the line and into the back of the net.
The goal emboldened Napoli, with López going close before Higuaín battled through and saw a low shot brilliantly saved by Dnipro goalkeeper Boyko when he probably should have scored.
Everything seemed to be coming through the Argentina striker, and it was he who teed up Callejón with 25 minutes to play. Higuaín's former Real Madrid team-mate was in a good position near the centre of the penalty area, but he put a disappointing effort wide of the mark.
Dnipro tried to inject some energy into their performance by introducing attacking midfielder Roman Bezus into the action with 70 minutes on the clock, with goalscorer López replaced by Walter Gargano as Benítez looked to hold onto his side's slender lead.
Boyko was having a good game in between the sticks for Dnipro as the Italians began to turn the screw in the second-half, and he denied Higuaín one-on-one again after more good play from an increasingly influential Hamšík. Minutes later, Higuaín was called into action at the other end to head clear a free-kick from Ukraine veteran Ruslan Rotan.
However, it was the introduction of 29-year-old forward Seleznyov for the struggling Kalinić which was to prove decisive with ten minutes to play. The former Shakhtar man came on as a last throw of the dice for Dnipro, but swept a low cross into the bottom corner of the net with his first touch of the ball to grab a crucial away goal amid some suspicions of offside.
And, while Napoli predictably piled on the late pressure, a succession of corners went astray as the visitors successfully managed to wind the clock down in the closing minutes of the game.