Both teams will have seen this match as a vital one for their hopes of progressing and showed plenty of intent early on, yet there was no conviction in front of goal, with Tomas Chory and Oihan Sancet being denied at either end.
Sancet then found space on the edge of the hosts’ box but curled his effort over, shortly before Lukas Provod chested the ball down and guided it wide of Unai Simon’s post.
As the chances dried up, the game’s importance translated to a nervous energy at Fortuna Arena with players from both sides, and Slavia manager Jindrich Trpisovsky, picking up needless yellow cards.
Adama Boiro swiftly shut down Chory when it finally looked like the striker might have another opening after Simon had rushed off his line, while David Zima outfoxed Sancet at the other end.
The Slavia centre-back then saw a dinked attempt of his own denied, while Michal Sadilek took some heavy blows as a combative first half came to a close.
Jindrich Stanek hadn’t been stretched much in the first 45 minutes but got the better of Robert Navarro three times within seven minutes of the restart, starting with an impressive low stop to deny the winger’s first-time attempt and ending with an even better save to claw his header away.
Trpisovsky soon responded with a triple change, while Ernesto Valverde’s double substitution saw Nico Williams introduced with just over half an hour remaining. Slavia still slowed the visitors’ progress, and Chory saw a header routinely saved before Zima blocked Alejandro Rego’s strike.
It appeared that Stepan Chaloupek had a golden opportunity after Sadilek’s corner found its way to him, but Boiro made a vital intervention to keep Slavia Prague winless in the UCL this term and waiting for their first goal in the competition since facing Bodo/Glimt on the opening day.
Things aren’t looking too much better for Athletic Club, who have won one of their last six matches across all competitions and will miss Aitor Paredes against Paris Saint-Germain due to the yellow for his late incident with Chory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Adama Boiro (Athletic Club)