Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Aston Villa
Crystal Palace frustrated Aston Villa yet again as a scrappy 0-0 draw unfolded at Selhurst Park.
Oliver Glasner’s side are now unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Villa, winning five of these fixtures, but their own winless run extends to eight games across all competitions.
Both sides had chances to win the fixture, albeit they were few and far between. Brennan Johnson came close to marking his home debut at Selhurst Park with a goal but Emiliano Martinez’s tipped save ensured the scoreline remained level.
Ollie Watkins would suffer the same fate, with one effort smothered by Dean Henderson and a late header grazing the outside of the post.
Villa looked better but fell off as time went on, while Palace pushed on in search of their opener but fell short.
“Game of two halves, I think,” said Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa, as both he and England teammate Marc Guehi impressed the evening, knowing Thomas Tuchel was in the stands watching on.
“I thought in the first half we dominated —we kept the ball well and created a couple of chances. In the second half, they applied more pressure and created some chances themselves.”
A point was a fair result on an evening that lacked quality in the final third. Palace were without 10 first-team players for this outing and will likely walk away with their heads held high, given the lack of depth and recent struggles, while the same cannot be said for their opponents.
A lacklustre showing from Villa, who had the chance to move above Manchester City in second following their 1-1 draw with Brighton, will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of Unai Emery, who has yet to beat Glasner and was animated at full-time before storming down the tunnel.
Guehi: That is a vital point for us; hopefully we can build on it
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi speaking to Sky Sports:
“I’m proud of the team today. We know that they like to play in the pockets a lot, so it was important that we shut the middle and showed them the outside.
“It’s not always easy, but I think everyone worked hard and we had chances for ourselves on the break. On another day, they go in.
“It’s a vital point – it’s critical. The league’s so tough this year, so any point is valuable. A point tonight is good and hopefully we can build on it.”
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