Report: Palace battle to point at Bournemouth

Crystal Palace went into the game unbeaten in their last four away Premier League matches, and seeking to equal the club record of three consecutive top-flight away wins.

They were quickest out of the traps too, with Jefferson Lerma winning the ball high early on, Will Hughes playing it forwards with one touch, and Jean-Philippe Mateta shooting sharply from the edge of the box, dragging wide.

Ismaïla Sarr – off the back of six goal involvements in his previous six games – was next to get a shot away, showing some neat footwork inside the box to make room, but the No. 7 fired straight at Kepa in the Bournemouth goalmouth.

Bournemouth, off the back of a remarkable 3-0 win away at Manchester United at the weekend, took time to grow into the contest, but had the opportunity to take the lead after 20 minutes when Dango Outtara found space on the left-hand overlap – with not too much of the goal to aim for across Dean Henderson, the Cherries’ attack drilled wide.

Palace’s first real clear chance just moments later: Eze exchanged passes with Mateta and played an inviting low ball across the box which Muñoz – having lost his marker Lewis Cook – struck goalwards, but on his weaker left foot, allowing Kepa to save.

Opportunities were beginning to come thick and fast, with a Bournemouth corner only half-cleared to Antoine Semenyo, whose swivel-and-strike was blocked beneath the Palace crossbar by Sarr – although it might have been going wide.

Both sides were showing plenty of attacking intent, if lacking perhaps a final ball. Sarr thought he had put Palace ahead on 27 minutes after being played through, only for the linesman to raise his flag, and Outtara – six yards out – could not keep his finish down from another Bournemouth corner, half-volleying over.

But for all the threat which both sides carried in the build-up, that was as good as it got in terms of clear chances inside the first 45 minutes.

Into the second-half and the game once again exploded into a flurry of goalmouth activity, with Will Hughes’ short corner finding Eze on the edge of the area. His left-footed strike, curling around a crowd of bodies, was seen late by Kepa, who did well to get down and parry the effort away.

Up the other end and Bournemouth twice threatened, with Outtara’s rising cross beaten away by Dean Henderson and Justin Kluivert’s follow-up – flicked on its way through by Enes Ünal – also forcing a smart save from the England international goalkeeper.

The game was crying out for a goal, but both teams were defending steadfastly; Tyrick Mitchell did well to run in behind Lewis Cook, but from his lay-off, Eze’s first-time effort inside the box was blocked.

The game was crying out for a goal, yet both sides looked capable of providing it. Semenyo was next to go close with a sharp turn past Maxence Lacroix, but from a tight angle, his strike whistled across the face of Palace’s goal.

It was a match of openings, rather than chances, and Bournemouth substitute Evanilson had another with 15 minutes remaining when Lacroix failed to get much distance on his header and Cook stabbed the ball forwards. From a tight angle again, and with Trevoh Chalobah doing superbly to put him off, Evanilson fired wide.

As the half wore on, Bournemouth’s flurry of half-chances continued: a long ball forwards found Philip Billing in enough space to bring it down, but his left-footed effort – again, from an admittedly difficult again – evaded both the bottom corner, and his teammates, once more.

There were a couple of final nervy moments for Palace in the final moments, Semenyo attacking Milos Kerkez’s whipped ball in – his flicked header, thankfully, sailed inches wide – before Mitchell did well to prevent Dean Huisjan from converting a free-kick deep into injury-time.

But the Eagles were good value for a 0-0 draw which stretches their unbeaten run on the road to five Premier League matches, and reach the landmark of 150 clean sheets in the competition.

Bournemouth: Kepa (GK), Aarons (Adams, 62), Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Cook, Christie, Semenyo, Kluivert (Billing, 72), Ouattara (Brooks, 85), Ünal (Evanilson, 62).

Subs: Travers (GK), Hill, Kinsey, Winterburn, Harris.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Muñoz, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell, Lerma, Hughes (Doucouré, 53), Sarr, Eze (Devenny, 88), Mateta (Kamada, 82).

Subs: Turner (GK), Clyne, Richards, Kporha, Schlupp, Agbinone.