Paris Saint-Germain have been unable to break through away to Montpellier HSC, despite having a goal ruled out for offside late in the first half of their Ligue 1 clash.
Laurent Blanc's side, who wrapped up the title with a victory at the Stade de la Mosson last season, nearly edged ahead on six minutes when David Luiz's free kick brought an acrobatic save out of Jonathan Ligali.
Within moments, La Paillade had a chance of their own as Paul Lasne flashed a shot from the edge of the box, which drifted wide of Kevin Trapp's left-hand post.
On 10 minutes, PSG suffered an early setback when Javier Pastore, who returned to the starting lineup after missing the win over Gazelec Ajaccio, was forced off after pulling up in a previous attack.
Montpellier appeared to be keen on shooting at the earliest opportunity as Anthony Mounier fired off another effort from distance, but Trapp was able to collect with ease.
Adrien Rabiot, on for the injured Pastore, then tried his luck with a low strike that had Ligali scrambling low down to his right to gather.
The hosts squandered a golden opportunity after Djamel Bakar instigated a four-on-three break for La Paillade, but despite the numerical advantage in an attacking position, Mounier managed to hit his cross straight at Thiago Silva as PSG cleared the danger.
Ten minutes before half time, the champions thought that they had taken the lead when Serge Aurier headed Thiago Motta's free kick beyond a helpless Ligali. However, the Ivorian's effort was rightly adjudged to be offside.
Within moments, Jonas Martin was caught dwelling on the ball in his own area, which allowed Ezequiel Lavezzi to steal in ahead of the defender, but the Argentine sent his shot the wrong side of the post.
Chris O'Keefe
