Renaissance Berkane of Morocco and title-holders Pyramids of Egypt drew 0-0 on Saturday in a CAF Champions League Group A clash between the dominant clubs in Africa last season.
Pyramids won the Champions League in only their second attempt and Berkane lifted the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup for the third time in six years.
Those successes set up a CAF Super Cup showdown in Cairo last October, which the Egyptians won 1-0 through a goal from prolific scorer Fiston Mayele.
Democratic Republic of Congo-born Mayele led the Pyramids frontline again in the latest meeting, but neither he nor anyone else could score.
Defences were not only on top in Berkane but elsewhere with three of the four matchday three games ending goalless. The other match produced just one goal.
Berkane lead Pyramids on goals scored with both having seven points and plus-four differences. They meet again on February 1 in Cairo.
The 0-0 draw between two group-stage debutants, Power Dynamos of Zambia and Rivers United of Nigeria, left both six behind in Group A, with the Zambians regretting many missed chances in Ndola.
Apart from squandering chances, with Malawian Chifundo Mphasi the chief culprit, Power were regularly foiled by the brilliant goalkeeping of Osagie Onisodumeya.
He leapt to his left and pushed away a header from Congolese Ismael Ankobo header after 10 minutes. Mphasi later blazed over from close range.
Captain Prince Mumba forced another great save from Onisodumeya before half-time while rival goalkeeper, Willard Mwanza, was never tested.
Post foils Zambians
When the Nigerian shot-stopper was finally beaten after 75 minutes, by a shot from Moses Shumah, the ball rebounded off the post. The Zambian went close again to ending the deadlock in added time.
In Group D, four-time champions Esperance of Tunisia edged Simba of Tanzania 1-0 thanks to a goal midway through the first half from 19-year-old Burkinabe Jack Diarra.
A superb long pass from captain Amine Ben Hmida found the teenager, who raced into the box while holding off the challenge of Simba skipper Shomari Kapombe and beat Niger goalkeeper Mahamadou Djibo.
The goal was a rare highlight in a scrappy, foul-riddled clash that ended with the players soaked from a torrential downpour.
Victory lifted Esperance from third to first in the table with five points, but they could be overtaken by Stade Malien of Mali or Petro Luanda of Angola on Sunday.
A win for Stade or Petro would lift them to seven points, while a score draw in Bamako would move both clubs above Esperance on goals scored.
Simba, playing their first Champions League match under new coach Steve Barker from South Africa, are pointless after three losses.
FAR Rabat of Morocco and JS Kabylie of Algeria, both former champions, drew 0-0 in eastern Algerian city Tizi Ouzou. The Group B result left the teams with two points each.
Record 12-time African champions Al Ahly of Egypt top the table with seven points after a 2-0 win over Young Africans of Tanzania on Friday. The Dar es Salaam outfit are three points behind in second spot.
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