Key stats
- Crystal Palace have failed to win in their last six games in the Premier League, their last longer winless streak was from August 2024 to October 2024, a run of eight games.
- Crystal Palace have kept a clean sheet in eight of their 21 games, only Manchester City and Arsenal (both nine) have done this more often in the Premier League this season.
- This was Jadon Sancho's 100th Premier League appearance - 58 for Manchester United, 31 for Chelsea and 11 for Aston Villa.
Highlights
Analysis
Apart from a large chunk of the second half, Aston Villa controlled most of the momentum in their draw against Crystal Palace.
Match report
After making his debut in Sunday’s away defeat to Newcastle, Brennan Johnson failed to capitalise on an early chance to endear himself to the Palace faithful in his first home appearance since arriving from Tottenham.
The Wales international raced onto Adam Wharton’s inch-perfect through pass, before he saw his rising strike pushed over by the alert Emiliano Martínez.
After surviving that scare, Villa grew into the half and threatened through in-form striker Ollie Watkins, who saw his first chance smothered by the onrushing Dean Henderson, before another effort required a crucial block from centre-back Maxence Lacroix.
With the contest finely poised, Unai Emery’s charges were dealt a setback when Martínez was forced off with an apparent injury issue at the break, requiring Marco Bizot to make his fifth PL appearance of the season.
Villa’s backup goalkeeper was given time to ease himself into the game as the visitors made sure the early second-half action took place at the opposite end of the pitch.
Youri Tielemans failed to keep his shot down after meeting Victor Lindelöf’s accurate knockdown, shortly before Henderson reacted quickly to prevent Lacroix from diverting the ball into his own net.
The Eagles soon fought back with promising chances of their own, with Yéremy Pino’s curling shot drawing a strong stop from Bizot, who would have been relieved to see Lucas Digne back up his work with a last-ditch block from Justin Devenny’s follow-up effort.
In keeping with the back-and-forth nature of the half, Watkins went agonisingly close to netting a late Villa winner when his downward header bounced onto the post, denying the third-placed side a first H2H win since September 2023.
As for 14th-placed Palace, they would have been encouraged by their improved display, but frustrated by the fact they are now winless in eight outings across all competitions.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace)
Post-match comments
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 alot, 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 really important. The league's so tough this year, so any point is valuable. A point tonight is good and hopefully we can build on it."
Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa to Sky Sports:
"Game of two halves, I think.
"I thought the first half we dominated – kept the ball well and created a couple of chances.
"The second half, they applied more pressure and created some chances themselves.
"We know results over the last couple of seasons here haven’t been the best for us, so to keep a clean sheet here and get a point was good for us."