PSG prevail after keeping BATE at bay

Paris Saint-Germain FC endured a nervous night to clinch their place in the round of 16 courtesy of a goalless draw at home to FC BATE Borisov.

The Ligue 1 outfit held a slender advantage coming into the second leg after last week's 2-2 draw in Minsk. They were unable to break down stubborn Belarusian opponents this time around, but stretched their unbeaten home record in UEFA club competition to 14 matches to set up a last-16 meeting with SL Benfica.

PSG struck a late first-leg equaliser, and maintained that momentum back on home soil with a sprightly opening in which Peguy Luyindula came closest to breaking the deadlock. The French international's deft touch to Mevlüt Erdinç's driven centre flew just beyond Aleksandr Gutor's far post.

Despite Antoine Kombouaré leaving top scorer Nenê and the influential Ludovic Giuly on the sidelines, there was plenty of attacking intent from PSG. However, the absent duo's quality would have been welcome in their opponent's final third of the pitch with the home side consistently unable to conjure a telling final ball.

That allowed BATE's self-belief to swell, and the Belarusian champions should have held a half-time advantage only for Aleksandr Volodko to head disappointingly wide after Maksim Bordachev arrowed a superb ball into the PSG box.

Mathieu Bodmer and Jean-Eudes Maurice passed up fine scoring opportunities early in the second half, yet BATE looked the sharper side. When Zoumana Camara failed to clear, Renan Bressan would surely have put the visitors ahead had he connected cleanly with only Apoula Édel to beat.

The late introduction of Guillaume Hoarau afforded PSG greater potency up front, but even a smart swivel and shot from the French international failed to beat Gutor as the hosts were forced to bite their nails right to the final whistle.