Athletic Bilbao hold PSG at San Mames

Athletic Bilbao were able to hold Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw in the match on Day 6 of the European club money-spinning competition.

The reigning champions went to Spain on the back of a 5-3 win against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago at the Parc des Princes.

The Paris club have now gone blank in their Matchday 6, unlike Luis Enrique’s squad, which has hardly failed to score in this season’s competition.

With their intricate passes, Les Parisiens failed to break down Athletic Bilbao’s defense on Wednesday night at San Mamés.

The result in the sixth round of Champions League group stage matches leaves them third in the group as they remain under threat in the race for a top-eight finish.

PSG also suffered an injury blow when their captain, Marquinhos, was forced off with an injury at halftime. Three points separate them from 15th-placed FC Barcelona before their trip to Sporting Lisbon on January 20.

Bilbao deserved credit for not allowing their visitors to impose their game on them in the first half after a fairly even start.

As the game wore on, the Parisians found it increasingly difficult to escape the Basque side’s pressing and were wasteful with the few chances they created.

One of such instances was two shots from Fabian Ruiz that went well over the bar, while another came from Senny Mayulu.

Unai Simon then denied the young striker four minutes later, while PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov had to be alert on two occasions, preventing his team from going into halftime trailing.

PSG again dominated the second half in the early stages before the game became more balanced again. The bar denied them as Bradley Barcola was played through on goal after a well-worked team move, and unleashed a powerful shot that crashed against the crossbar.

This is also their first draw in the Champions League since October 2015 against Real Madrid.

 PSG would have sealed an automatic spot to the round of 16 with a win here, but can avoid the prospect of the playoffs as two matches are remaining: an away game against Sporting Lisbon on January 20 and a home game against Newcastle a week later 

PSG brought on Désiré Doué in the 62nd minute as the former Rennes player, who replaced Mayulu, had not played since October 29 and still couldn’t find the breakthrough.

Enrique will hope this is just a blip as they will return to domestic action at the weekend.