Hulk missed a penalty as Atletico Mineiro drew 0-0 with defending champions Palmeiras in their all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores semi-final tie on Tuesday.

Former Brazil international Hulk crashed his 42nd-minute spot kick off the foot of the post after sending Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton the wrong way at Sao Paulo’s Allianz Parque.

That missed spot-kick was the clearest goal scoring opportunity of a largely lacklustre encounter which saw both sides adopting a cautious approach.

Palmeiras, who are chasing a third Libertadores title after wins in 1999 and 2020, struggled to carve out goalscoring chances against a rugged Atletico defence.

Matias Zaracho’s attempted overhead kick on 25 minutes was the closest the hosts came to scoring in a low key first half.

Atletico meanwhile suffered a blow in the 54th minute when Costa pulled up with a hamstring injury and limped off.

Hulk had nerves jangling in the Palmeiras defence late in the game when his long-range free-kick whistled just wide, but there was to be no breakthrough.

The second leg takes place in Belo Horizonte next Tuesday.

The winner of the Palmeiras-Atletico tie will face either Brazilian team Flamengo or Ecuador’s Barcelona SC in the final.

Flamengo host Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.