Geovanni edged the battle of the Brazilians as he salvaged Hull an entertaining draw against former club Manchester City at the KC Stadium.
Robinho, drafted in by the Eastlands side for £32.5m after his compatriot's release on a free transfer, was lively but overshadowed by team-mate Stephen Ireland who grabbed both the visitors' goals.
Two defensive errors, from Tal Ben-Haim and Kamil Zayatte, made it 1-1 before a sublime second from Ireland and Geovanni's deflected free-kick cancelled each other out.
Stand-in Manchester City captain, Robinho made his first touch of note in the first minute when he collected the ball on halfway and surged toward the Hull goal.
He shaped to shoot but then rolled the ball to Benjani Mwaruwari in an offside position.
A minute later a George Boateng foul gave him a chance to try his luck from range, but his free-kick squirmed tamely wide.
Marlon King started brightly in a more withdrawn role than usual, combining well with Dean Marney to put the visiting defence under some early pressure.
Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill, meanwhile, showed good awareness when leaving his area to clear a dangerous through ball.
After 10 minutes, Hull created a fine chance which was spurned by captain Ian Ashbee.
Sam Ricketts whipped in a cross from the left, allowing Marney to cushion a first-time pass to Ashbee, who scuffed his effort low and wide.
more finesse
Hull were ahead four minutes later, though, Ben-Haim to blame for a defensive error.
Micah Richards rolled the ball to his defensive partner and, with only Daniel Cousin in attendance and minimal pressure on, the Israeli inexplicably played the striker in six yards from goal.
Cousin slotted home with ease, while keeper Joe Hart was left injured on the turf.
He limped off minutes later, all but ensuring his withdrawal from the England squad, with Kasper Schmeichel his replacement.
Geovanni, quiet in the opening exchanges, tried some crowd-pleasing footwork on the left wing after 23 minutes but was bundled, strongly but fairly, into touch by Pablo Zabaleta.
Shaun-Wright Phillips and Robinho began to link behind the away side's front two to lend the encounter a little more finesse, but the Tigers remained staunch in defence.
And it was Hull, on the counter, who created the next opportunity, Cousin glancing wide from a Ricketts cross.
After 37 minutes Zayatte produced the second defensive mistake of the match.
Robinho's through-ball missed every blue shirt and was collected with ease by Zayatte who played the ball back across his own goal and into the path of Ireland, who tapped into an open net.
The midfielder had his second before the half was out, taking Garrido's square pass on his instep before curling his shot expertly beyond Myhill.
brief scramble
It took just two minutes of the second period for Geovanni to get the home supporters on their feet, firing over with a thrilling bicycle kick after latching onto King's cross.
The on-loan Wigan Athletic striker then had a strike of his own, warming Schmeichel's palms with an angled drive 10 yards out.
The match started to settle into something of a pattern, with Hull lofting the ball high towards the box and City content to clear back into Tigers territory.
Geovanni, typically, was the man to change things. With an hour gone, he lined up a free-kick 25 yards from goal and directly in front of the posts.
His shot took a heavy deflection off Vincent Kompany in the wall, leaving Schmeichel floundering and earning him a sixth Barclays Premier League goal of the season.
Revitalised, Hull almost took the lead seconds later, Cousin forcing a smart save from the substitute goalkeeper.
Robinho almost created a third for Manchester City with a wicked ball across goal, but after a brief scramble Vassell's shot was blocked by Ashbee.
Two-goal Ireland was also lively at the other end of the pitch, hoofing the ball high to safety as Hull pressed forward.
Both sides looked to the bench to squeeze a winner, with Jo replacing Benjani for Mark Hughes' side and veteran Nick Barmby on for Cousin.
Ben-Haim carried the ball 30 yards with an unlikely, jinking run into the final third and looked ready to pull the trigger when he was dispossessed by Michael Turner.
Hull had three successive free-kicks from 20 yards in the closing stages but none managed to clear the wall.
With 90 minutes up, Vassell broke clear and hooked a shot goalwards only to see Myhill beat the ball away at his near post.
