Andoni Iraola’s men were evidently still brimming with confidence following their battering of Manchester United last weekend as they almost opened the scoring twice inside 25 minutes against Palace.
On 19 minutes, Justin Kluivert slipped in wide man Dango Ouattara but the Burkinabé man’s composure deserted him and he flashed his strike wide.
Just a mere two minutes later, the ball dropped to Antoine Semenyo after Palace failed to clear a corner but somehow Ismaïla Sarr cleared the Ghanaian’s shot off the line.
For all the Cherries attacking dominance in the first half, it was the visitors who had the ball in the back of the net. Sarr was sent through on goal and the Senegalese striker finished clinically before the play was brought back for offside.
Before their 5-1 festive nightmare at home against Arsenal, Oliver Glasner’s side were on their own five-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League but it is their healthy recent away form that has caught the eye this season providing a launching pad to safety for the Eagles and this performance was no different.
Bournemouth huffed and puffed but Palace stood firm, reducing the home side to potshots from distance as they looked to catch them on the counter.
For all of the visitors’ resolute rearguard work, Bournemouth have cherry-picked some serious scalps at the Vitality Stadium this season, including Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month and almost found a breakthrough on 73 minutes when Lewis Cook clipped a ball around the corner to substitute Evanilson but Trevor Chalobah marshalled him well forcing the Brazilian to uncharacteristically drag his shot wide.
Five minutes later Cook, once again, provided the creativity, this time gifting a chance to Philip Billing but the big Dane’s shot was off target.
The home side have been the best in the Premier League this season at finding goals in the final 10 minutes but failed to find the crucial breakthrough as they had to settle for a point which still kept them in the hunt for European football next season.
For Palace, Glasner will be pleased to put a torrid week behind him and his team with a well-earned draw in the Premier League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lewis Cook (Bournemouth)