Lille OSC 0 : 0 Nice - Lille and Nice draw a blank

Nice had to settle for a third successive goalless draw in Ligue 1 despite having a man advantage for more than half the match against Lille at Stade Pierre Mauroy.

Nice had drawn 0-0 with Metz and Nantes in their previous two outings but must have felt they would return to winning ways when Lille full-back Djibril Sidibe was shown a straight red card in the 41st minute for a nasty tackle on Carlos Eduardo.

However, a poor second half failed to produce a goal for either team and meant Nice missed the chance to close the gap on seventh-placed Montpellier, whose match at Monaco was postponed.

Lille, who remain two points behind Nice, will not be especially happy with the outcome either having dominated proceedings up until Sidibe's reckless red.

Nolan Roux volleyed a chance over early on for the hosts before Sebastien Corchia drew a diving save from Mouez Hassan with a curling free-kick from the edge of the box.

Lille went close again with a Marko Basa header that went just wide and a low drive from Marcos Lopes that was blocked by Romain Genevois, but their momentum was checked by Sidibe's dismissal just before the interval.

Despite that setback, Lille still went closest to taking the lead at the start of the second half when Lopes saw his free-kick hit the side-netting.

Nice finally started to threaten as an attacking force in the final 20 minutes, and they really should have scored only for Eric Bautheac to miss his volley by inches in front of an open goal following good work by Eduardo.

Nampalys Mendy also should have done better in the 83rd minute, the Nice midfielder shooting over from the edge of the box, before Lille spurned one final chance to snatch the points in stoppage time when substitute Sofiane Boufal beat two men inside the area but could not keep his shot down.