Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in a tense affair which was interrupted by a series of free-kicks and 11 yellow cards from English referee Mike Riley.The opening stages produced scrappy play from both teams, with a succession of fouls denying the crowd the chance to see fast attacking football.
What few chances there were came from set pieces, with Roma's Francesco Totti the first to catch a glimpse of goal in the 10th minute with a 20-yard free-kick which went high of the mark.
Minutes later, another foul allowed Juninho a free-kick for Lyon, and the visitors came close to opening the scoring when home midfielder Rodrigo Taddei headed the ball onto the right post from the centre of a crowded penalty area.
Lyon then threatened again in the 17th minute with a right-footed drive from Sidney Govou which trickled past the left post.
But Roma withstood the pressure and replied with an effort of their own midway through the half when Simone Perrotta drilled a 25-yard strike narrowly wide.
Neither goalkeeper had had much to do so far in the match, but that changed for Alexander Doni towards the end of the half with the Roma custodian first holding onto a Florent Malouda bullet before fumbling a second strike from the French international moments later.
The visitors carried that momentum into the second half and Fred should have done better with a right-footed drive which flashed past the post.
Tiago then tried his luck with a lob from distance but the Portuguese midfielder also saw his shot fall wide of the mark.
Perrotta responded for Roma with a lob of his own which dropped over the crossbar, before Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet was called upon to make his first real save of the match with an agile dive to tip another Totti free-kick around the post.
Doni pulled off a similar move at the other end of the pitch in the 65th minute to turn Juninho's long-range set-piece away from the Roma goal, before Govou volleyed the resulting corner past the right post.
And six minutes later, Coupet almost gifted Roma an opening goal when he failed to get a proper grip on Totti's testing free-kick before atoning for his error by retrieving the ball as it trickled toward the goalline.
Set pieces continued to provide the best opportunities for both sides as the clock ticked down, and seven minutes from time an inswinging corner from Juninho was swept off the line by defender Christian Panucci.
And Lyon almost snatched the win in the final minute with another free-kick from Juninho which dipped just too late and landed on the roof of the net.
The teams will return to France and Lyon's Stade Gerland for the second leg in two weeks.
AS Roma 0 - 0 Lyon
