It was honours even at the Stade Chaban-Delmas with a resolute Osasuna side showing just enough character to keep out the home team and frustrate the Girondis in front of a crowd who grew increasingly weary with their team as the game went on. Bordeaux missed a couple of gilt-edged chances to take an advantage in this first leg, but will now have to produce the goods in Spain, where they have traditionally found it hard to avoid defeat.

For Bordeaux, Champions League Winner Vladimir Smicer was back to bolster the midfield with Edixon Perea relegated to the bench, while Osasuna started with Webo and veteran Serbia striker Savo Milosevic up front. The early action was scrappy, poor conditions had left the pitch looking in need of repair even before the kick off, and the bumpy surface meant that both sets of defenders elected to put safety first, meaning a stop-starts first period was on the cards. Centre backs from both sides hoofed anything dangerous-looking into the crowded midfield area or the stands and no meaningful attacks were put together until Juan Pablo Francia broke free in the box for a shot, but his effort lacked venom and was easily stopped by Ricardo Lopez in the Osasuna goal. David Jemali, Bordeaux's most likely avenue of goals on the night, provided a fizzing cross on the stroke of half time, but Chamakh somehow conspired to miss a tap in for what should have been a well-worked goal.

The second half saw more Osasuna resistance. Bordeaux replaced the ineffective Smicer with Perea, but other than a Francia free-kick that thudded into the wall and a decent shot from Julien Flaubert, the French side did little with superior possession, and were left to rue the missed chances they had worked in the first half. Osasuna's two banks of four held out strong, with Ricardo Lopez never really troubled by anything that was thrown at him, despite the Spanish keeper having to show quick reactions to gather from a Juretti corner late on in the match.

For their part, Osasuna were throughly unambitious away from home, and showed little willing to get forward in an effort to nick an away goal. Their single attempt on goal came in the first half, a weak Webo header that went straight into the arms of Ulrich Rame. However, the ball was always in Bordeaux's court; as the home team, they were expected to take the initiative, but much the chagrin of their fans, they seemed to have very little in the way of ideas in the final third. It is now advantage Osasuna in the away leg, but Bordeaux way well go into that fixture with little to fear from the Spanish side's forwards based on tonight's evidence.