Lille and Everton have played out a goalless 45 minutes in the first half of their Europa League clash at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

It was a bright start to the match from Lille, but they struggled to create clear chances, despite troubling the Everton defence with the pace of their attacking play.

Samuel Eto'o was proving to be a good outlet for Everton, and he threatened to break the deadlock with a clever piece of play involving Steven Pienaar, before the Cameroonian forward lost control of the ball inside the box.

The Toffees almost gifted the opening goal to the hosts midway through the first half when Idriss Gueye watched his effort from the edge of the box miss the bottom corner by a few inches after the visitors had twice missed the opportunity to clear the danger.

A rare opening presented itself to Aiden McGeady later in the first half, but the Irish winger's speculative half-volley was easily collected by Vincent Enyeama in the Lille goal.