A superb defensive display by AC Milan saw it draw 0-0 with holder Barcelona on Wednesday while four-time winner Bayern Munich took a giant step towards the Champions League semifinals with a 2-0 away win over Marseille.
Barcelona enjoyed its usual two-thirds majority of possession but Milan played in a controlled and calm manner, and even created the best chances on the counter-attack.
Safety-first approach
Chances were at a premium as the two sides adopted a largely safety-first policy to ensure they would go into the return match with everything still to play for.
There were times during the first period in which Milan looked capable of repeating Inter Milan's famous 3-1 semifinal, home leg victory over the champion in the same stadium two years ago.
But by the second half Milan's attacking threat had all but dried up and Barcelona seemed unable or unwilling to commit enough men forward to break down their stubborn host. Instead a close second-leg awaits in Spain next Tuesday where Milan will feel confident that progress could hinge on the scoring of an away goal, which Barcelona failed to do here.
Milan almost got off to a dream start following a Barcelona mistake but Kevin-Prince Boateng hesitated a moment too long, allowing Gerard Pique to block his shot.
The ball spooned up and Zlatan Ibrahimovic teed up Robinho but he skied his finish.
Bayern Munich had little trouble dispatching a feeble Marseille team with Mario Gomez grabbing his 11th goal of the competition and Arjen Robben also scoring at the Stade Velodrome.
Gomez put Bayern ahead just before halftime, with Marseille goalkeeper Elinton Andrade to blame for letting the ball slip under his body
And Robben added a clinical second in the 69th minute after a quick one-two with Thomas Mueller.
The results: AC Milan 0 drew with Barcelona 0; Marseille 0 lost to Bayern Munich 2 (Gomez 44, Robben 69).
