There were few clearcut chances with both defences in dominant form and the tie is evenly poised going into the second leg at Old Trafford following the Premier League leaders’ failure to score an away goal.

“It was a disappointing game,” United manager Alex Ferguson told ITV. “They made sure they weren’t going to concede a goal. 0-0 can be a dangerous score but we will be better at home.”

In a cagey opening period, United’s Darren Fletcher had a good chance when his sharp effort was smartly saved by Steve Mandanda and Nani blazed over from a promising position.

Marseille probed without any real purpose, former United defender Gabriel Heinze particularly keen to impress with a few driving runs down the left, but Brandao’s weak header was practically all they had to show for their increased endeavour in the second half.

Ferguson, who said before kick off he feared Marseille’s power and noisy fans, left Paul Scholes on the bench despite his injury-depleted squad but replacement Darron Gibson failed to impose himself and the former England midfielder replaced him for the last few minutes.

EVERY TOUCH

United left back Patrice Evra, a former Monaco player and a France World Cup rebel, was booed on his every touch by the Stade Velodrome but made some decent raids to link up with Wayne Rooney as the striker drifted to the left and dropped deep to try to make something happen in a turgid game.

He had two shots blocked while Portuguese winger Nani flattered to deceive, slipping twice when in good positions as the three-times European champions struggled to create chances.

The poor nature of the first half was summed up by the home fans booing United for passing the ball back to keeper Edwin van der Sar but the visitors were increasingly content to settle for 0-0 with centre back Chris Smalling looking solid on his first big European occasion.

“Smalling was excellent,” Ferguson said. “He gave a tremendous example of centre back play and he is getting better all the time.”

A slightly blunted Marseille, who upped the tempo after the break, were without main striker Andre-Pierre Gignac because of a groin problem and playmaker Mathieu Valbuena came on as a late substitute following his recovery from injury.

“It is not a bad result for us, in the first game it is very important not to concede a goal,” Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. “It was a hard game against a big team and my players have done their best.”

The second leg is on March 15.