Cavani misses sitter in rare draw
Paris Saint-Germain was held to a goalless draw by Lille as Edinson Cavani failed to convert a glorious chance in the second half.
Edinson Cavani missed a sitter as Paris Saint-Germain was forced to settle for a 0-0 Ligue 1 draw at home to Lille on Sunday (AEDT).
The Uruguay international led the line for PSG as Laurent Blanc rested a number of key players ahead of Wednesday's (AEDT) UEFA Champions League tie against Chelsea — with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva left out of the squad altogether — but failed to grab his chance in an underwhelming performance.
Cavani inexplicably shot over from just yards out after some poor goalkeeping from Vincent Enyeama early in the second half and missed another major opportunity in the closing stages as the match remained goalless.
PSG had previously come close via Jean-Kevin Augustin and Layvin Kurzawa, but the former was denied by the Lille goalkeeper, while the latter's header was cleared off the line by Rio Mavuba.
Lille was unable to threaten PSG's unbeaten league record and failed to register a shot on target, but its solid defending earned it a 13th draw of the season, which is more than any other side.
Blanc's men, meanwhile, failed to win for only the fourth time in 26 league matches this season but will quickly turn its attention to the crucial clash with Chelsea, who thrashed Newcastle United 5-1 across the English Channel in the Premier League.
PSG will be worried about Javier Pastore's status for the game after losing the playmaker to an adductor injury at half-time.
The hosts should have opened the scoring early on when Angel Di Maria sent Augustin clean through on goal with a sublime throughball, but Enyeama did well to deny the 18-year-old with a fine save.
Yassine Benzia threatened for Lille at the other end, but excellent defending from Marquinhos prevented the striker from testing home goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
Di Maria had a good opportunity to break the deadlock after an intelligent ball from Pastore, but Enyeama rushed off his line to complicate matters for the Argentina international and eventually managed to clear.
Pastore tried his luck from outside the area a few moments later, yet failed to get his shot on target as a poor effort flew high and wide.
PSG continued to push and Kurzawa came closest to finding a first-half opener after Di Maria's corner from the right, only to see his header crucially cleared off the line by Mavuba.
Cavani's huge chance to give the hosts the lead arrived 11 minutes after the interval when Enyeama failed to hold on to Blaise Matuidi's cross from the left, but the forward blasted his shot over the bar with the Lille goalkeeper already beaten.
Lucas looked dangerous shortly after he replaced Di Maria, but his shot from the edge of the area took a deflection off Adama Soumaoro and thus became easier for Enyeama to deal with.
The hosts pushed hard for a late winner, but missed the individual brilliance of Ibrahimovic as it remained goalless, with Cavani failing to convert a one-on-one chance in the dying minutes to underline his unimpressive display.
