Real Madrid coped well without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo to comfortably hold Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.
A thigh injury prevented Ronaldo from featuring and Madrid also played the second half at Etihad Stadium without Karim Benzema, depriving the 10-time European champions of their two most potent forwards.
However, City — making their first semifinal appearance in Europe's elite competition — couldn't capitalise and ended up being thankful to goalkeeper Joe Hart for late saves from Casemiro and Pepe as Madrid finished strongly.
The second leg in Madrid is played next week, with City boosted by not conceding an away goal.
A match between the grand master of European soccer and a recent arrival to the continent's top table proved to be something of a let-down, particularly with the vast array of talent on show.
The absence of Ronaldo, who had been expected to be fit, gave City a pre-game lift and ensured Madrid lacked a cutting edge going forward. That was even more the case when Benzema — another injury doubt for the match with a knee problem — failed to come out for the second half and was replaced by Jese.
Madrid's central midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos rarely ventured forward to help out the front three, preferring instead to give the visitors a solid block in front of the defense. City saw plenty of the ball in a tight first half but never threatened Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas, and then lost its way after the break.
That probably wasn't helped by Spain playmaker David Silva hobbling off late in the first half with an apparent hamstring injury, sustained while fouling Gareth Bale.
There were no shots on target in the first half from either side, and City striker Sergio Aguero also lacked accuracy when he blazed a left-footed attempt over the bar in the opening moments of the second half.
A goalkeeper was finally tested when Joe Hart had to be alert to save a header from the unmarked Sergio Ramos at a corner.
With its star-studded attack now also shorn of Benzema, Madrid relied on the roving Bale for inspiration but the former Tottenham winger was quiet on his return to England, save for an effort that curled wide of the far post. Instead, it was Jese who came closest to scoring when he met a right cross with a header that glanced the top of the crossbar and bounced over.
Hart came into his own in the final 10 minutes, keeping out Casemiro's close-range header and then rushing out to the feet of Pepe to stop the center back from turning in a loose ball from inside the six-yard box.
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