Lyon 0-0 AC Milan: Andriy Shevchenko had a rare off-night as AC Milan and Lyon fought out a goalless draw in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Shevchenko had a number of opportunities but failed to find the target in a game which started brightly before fading into stalemate. A Milan win would have been harsh on Lyon, however, as Gerard Houllier's men arguably had the better of a tight contest.

The first half could be separated into two segments, the first dominated by Milan and the second by Lyon. Aside from an early free-kick from Benoit Pedretti which required Dida to fist clear, Milan were the better side in the first 20 minutes. But a lack of prowess in front of goal - most notably by the usually reliable Shevchenko - and some fine goalkeeping from Gregory Coupet prevented the Italians from going ahead.

Coupet's first involvement came after seven minutes when, following a neat through ball from Gennaro Gattuso, the French international got down well to block Shevchenko's shot with his legs.

Milan had another excellent chance five minutes later, Kaka cutting in from the left before firing a 20-yard shot wide of Coupet's right-hand post. Lyon were struggling to cope with Milan's clever movement and quick, incisive passing. And it was another flowing move which set up arguably the best chance of the first half.

Serginho burst clear down the left and his whipped cross clipped the heels of Kaka at the far post. The ball fell nicely for Shevchenko but his low drive was again straight at the sprawling Coupet.
Lyon, who have been nigh on unbeatable at the Stade Gerland in recent years, finally got a grip of the game in midfield with Pedretti, the replacement for the suspended Juninho Pernambucano, starting to exert an influence.

And it was his free-kick, his third of the half from a near-identical position, which almost opened the scoring. The ball was swung in towards the towering John Carew but it flew over the Norwegian, forcing Dida to dive acrobatically away to his left to divert it away for a corner.

Having spent the previous 20 minutes on the back foot, Milan almost snatched the lead a minute from half-time. A long ball forward should have been easy for Cris but the Brazilian dallied, allowing Shevchenko to nip in and burst clear. Again, though, the Ukrainian's finishing was below his usual standard, hitting his shot straight at Coupet.

The opening to the second half saw the tempo drop with Milan retreating into their shell in a bid to take a clean sheet back to the San Siro next Tuesday. But a defensive lapse after 55 minutes almost undid all their good work.

Kakha Kaladze lost possession inside his own area and when the ball was squared to Tiago, it required a fine block from Alessandro Nesta to smuggle the shot clear. Pedretti had faded after a promising start and the Gerland crowd must have been wishing free-kick specialist Juninho was on the pitch when the Ligue 1 champions were awarded a set-piece just outside the Milan box.

Pedretti took it but hit his effort straight into the wall and then lashed the rebound wide.
Former Chelsea midfielder Tiago was starting to get forward more and he should have done better after 66 minutes than scuff his shot straight at Dida having jinked through the Milan rearguard.

The Portugal international almost made amends with eight minutes to go though, lashing in a 25-yard drive which Dida turned over the bar. Tiago's night was to end on a sour note when he was booked for tugging Kaka's shirt, an indiscretion which means he will miss the return in Milan.