Lille and AC Milan have missed a glut of chances between them as they fought out an entertaining goalless draw in their UCL Group H clash.

Clarence Seedorf saw a second-half effort disallowed for the away side - who go to the top of the group standings with four points - and although there was no lack of enthusiasm, each team will be ruing a lack of ruthlessness in the final third.

Milan had a hat-trick of great chances in the last five minutes of the first half and will be wondering how they failed to breach a nervy Lille defence.

The first, after 40 minutes, occurred when Andrea Pirlo played Kaka in with a 30-yard pass, giving the Brazilian a one-on-one with Tony Sylva in the home goal.

Kaka took the ball past Sylva but his touch was a fraction heavy and he left himself with a tight angle, allowing the keeper to nudge the ball wide of the near post when the shot arrived.

From the resultant corner Sylva came to claim the ball but failed to get anything substantial on it.

When Marek Jankulovski took control of the ball, Sylva was hopelessly out of position but the Czech Republic international drilled the ball high over the bar with a crowded box in front of him.

Then, just three minutes before the interval, Gennaro Gattuso's incisive slide-rule pass was collected by Alberto Gilardino, who proceeded to drag the ball wide of the far post eight yards from goal.

Nicolas Fauvergue also had a handful of chances for the home side and although his movement was a constant problem for the Rossoneri, he disappointed with his final touch.

After two half-chances inside the first five minutes, he had a better effort after quarter of an hour, firing a Abdulkader Keita cross over the bar from six yards, hooking the ball from behind him to make a good connection.

But he will be disappointed with his finish after 34 minutes when he stole a march on Kakha Kaladze to meet a teasing cross from the right, only to see his shot go directly at Milan keeper Dida.

Keita and Jankulovski traded long-range efforts before the half was out but with Fauvergue misfiring and Alberto Gilardino relatively quiet in the Milan forward line, neither side could break the deadlock.

Dutch midfielder Seedorf, who was pictured in heated debate with coach Carlo Ancelotti after a recent Serie A match, was next in the spotlight and he was unlucky to see his 50th-minute effort ruled out for offside.

Seedorf, a peripheral figure in the first period, latched on to a Kaka pass and curled delicately beyond a leaping Sylva before seeing his strike disallowed when he seemed to be onside.

The 30-year-old was more culpable after an hour when he was given the ball after a surging run into the penalty area, only for him to completely mis-hit his shot from six yards.

Lille continued to create chances but Dida remained unbeaten, with Keita blazing over from the edge of the box and Gregory Tafforeau drawing three saves from him in the space of 20 second-half minutes.

(PA SPORT)

In Italian : Milan sprecone, Lilla in paradiso

Impresa dei francesi che pareggiano 0-0 contro i rossoneri nel secondo turno di Champions League, al termine di una partita segnata dai gol falliti da Gilardino, Kakà e Seedorf.

TOCCA A GILARDINO - A Lens va di scena l'albero di Natale. Ancelotti non regala punti di riferimento al Lilla e si affida a una sola punta: Gilardino supportato da Kakà e Seedorf, mentre a centrocampo Ambrosini fa l'incontrista con Pirlo, mentre Gattuso è l'uomo dei sacrifici che va a lottare su tutti i palloni. I francesi sono modesti. Il primo tempo ne esalta la confusione mentale; una sorta di guastatori che cercano di sfondare la cassaforte, sfruttando più i guizzi dei singoli, vedi Keita e Fauvergue, e la loro velocità.