Aston Villa’s hopes of closing the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal suffered a setback as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Despite dominating patches of the match, Villa were unable to find a breakthrough, leaving Oliver Glasner’s side to settle for a point in their quest to halt a worrying slump that has seen them lose four of their last five games.
Villa started brightly, showing intent on a ground that has been notoriously unkind to them, having lost their previous three trips to south-east London.
Early opportunities fell to Morgan Rogers and Jadon Sancho, whose dangerous deliveries into the box were accompanied by claims for a penalty after Tyrick Mitchell handled the ball, only for the appeals to be denied.
Palace’s £35million summer signing, Brennan Johnson, could have broken the deadlock in the 17th minute, but goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was equal to his strike.
Johnson’s one-on-one was hampered by a poor first touch, leaving him little time to compose his shot after being threaded through by Adam Wharton.
At the other end, Youri Tielemans teed up Ollie Watkins, only for Dean Henderson to rush off his line and block the England striker’s attempt.
The first half continued with Villa pressing for an opening. Tielemans went down under a nudge from Jaydee Canvot, while Watkins saw a shot diverted to safety by Maxence Lacroix after hesitating too long on the trigger.
Matty Cash’s deflected strike kept the pressure on, but Villa could not convert their superiority into a goal.
Emiliano Martinez was replaced by Marco Bizot for the second half, and Villa maintained their attacking rhythm. Tielemans sent a free-kick narrowly wide, while a frantic scramble in Palace’s box ended with Henderson claiming the ball.
Yet, Palace also threatened, with Jean-Philippe Mateta causing problems in the Villa defence and Johnson’s header met by Bizot’s alert stop.
As the game wore on, Villa applied late pressure with a series of corners, with Victor Lindelof even hitting the post with a header, but Crystal Palace held firm.
A VAR review denied Villa a penalty, while Johnson was booked for simulation, leaving the contest goalless and both teams sharing the spoils.
