Neither Tianjin Quanjian or Guangzhou Evergrande could find the back of the net as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw in the opening leg of their 2018 AFC Champions League Round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
The home side had the first sight of goal, but Frenchman Anthony Modeste powered his shot from just inside the area straight at Zeng Cheng.
Tianjin Quanjian’s Brazilian superstar Alexandre Pato looked dangerous down the left as he regularly got the better of his opponents in an otherwise tight and tense first half of football.
Things opened up a little more in the second half and Alan should’ve given the visitors the lead, but somehow blasted the ball over the bar from close range ten minutes into the second half.
Zhang Lu then produced a fine save for the home side to deny Yu Hanchao as both teams pushed in search of an opener.
Modeste again had a great chance to open the scoring on 72 minutes after being played through by Wang Yongpo, but the Frenchman blasted his shot high and wide.
A defensive blunder gifted Pato a one-on-one with Zeng with ten minutes remaining, but the Guangzhou custodian stood tall to deny the Brazilian and backed it up with another fine save to deny Modeste’s rebounded effort to ensure his side ended the match with a clean sheet.
The two teams will meet again next week in the second leg at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou.
