Stubborn Leverkusen deny Galatasaray

Galatasaray AS had to settle for a goalless home draw in their UEFA Cup Round of 32 first leg against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Home side wasteful
The home side squandered a number of chances on a snowy night in Istanbul as Leverkusen's attack struggled to create any clear openings and the tie now heads to Germany all-square for the second leg on 21 February.

Scrappy opening
In a scrappy first 15 minutes, neither side could establish control although it was Karl-Heinz Feldkamp's team who showed the greater adventure. However, away goalkeeper René Adler was not tested until the 28th minute, when he did well to keep out Ümit Karan's drive. Leverkusen's best opening of the first period came just after the half-hour mark when Galatasaray defender Emre Güngör's attempted clearance deflected into away striker Stefan Kiessling's path but he could not take advantage.

Galatasaray chances
Arda Turan had a fine chance seven minutes before the break for the Süper Lig leaders, but his header from five metres went just over the crossbar and then Hakan Şükür beat his marker and crossed to Ümit Karan, who could only chip his effort into Adler's arms from close range. Leverkusen's efforts were more sporadic with Tranquillo Barnetta's cross-shot – which went wide of the upright – the pick of their chances.

No way through
With 20 minutes to go, Galatasaray had two opportunities in quick succession as Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker's misplaced pass was intercepted by Ümit Karan, who could not keep his shot down. Hakan Şükür was then denied in a one-on-one with Adler who rushed out to claim the ball at the striker's feet. The last opportunity came three minutes into added time as Adler parried a long-range shot straight to the feet of Shabani Nonda, who shot wastefully over.