With the winless streak looming large over Stade Saint-Symphorien, the home fans were immediately silenced as the visitors appeared to be awarded a penalty in the opening minutes. Jonathan Fischer was rash with his challenge and appeared to wipe out Matias Fernandez-Pardo in the corner of the box, but a lengthy VAR review suggested there was zero contact, and the Belgian was booked for simulation.
That sparked some life back into the home crowd, yet it wasn’t long before they were on the other end of a VAR call. Alpha Toure produced a fine curling finish at the edge of the area to seemingly put Metz ahead, only for a review to flag up the tightest of offsides, keeping the scores level.
Despite the eventful start, the game remained deadlocked, but Hekon Haraldsson came close to snatching a lead for the visitors before half-time when his powerful strike rippled the side netting as he tried to pick out the top corner.
And the Icelandic midfielder also came closest to opening the scoring after the restart, letting fly after a driving run towards the Metz box, but the ball whistled just wide of the post with Fischer at full stretch.
The visitors had entered this game with a turgid run of form after losing their previous four Ligue 1 games, and their lack of confidence was increasingly evident in attack as they grew further exasperated with each wasted attack.
That frustration continued to grow with 15 minutes to go as a loose ball was pounced upon by substitute Felix Correia, whose fierce strike was turned onto the inside of the near post by Fischer before bouncing to safety.
In the final stages, it was the visitors who pushed hardest to find a winner, but ultimately their luck was out as the game ended goalless.
Despite picking up a point, Metz remain rooted to the bottom of the table and could find themselves 10 points adrift of safety by the end of this round of fixtures. Lille can at least take some comfort in ending their four-game losing streak, but they now sit six points behind fourth-placed Lyon.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Benjamin Andre (Lille)