Bournemouth missed the chance to close the gap on the Premier League’s top seven as they were held to a draw by 10-man Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
The home side had to play over half the match with a numerical disadvantage after Chris Richards’ dismissal in first-half stoppage time, but Andoni Iraola’s side failed to break down their opponents in a second half low on goalmouth drama.
The first half had ended in controversy after Palace defender Richards, who was already on a booking for an earlier foul on Dango Ouattara, was shown a second yellow card for a tug on Justin Kluivert.
Palace were incensed at the decision, particularly as referee Sam Barratt had opted against dismissing Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott for a second bookable offence following a foul on Ismaila Sarr 10 minutes earlier.
The visitors dominated possession after half-time but, aside from a tame Evanilson header from Adam Smith’s delivery, the Cherries rarely looked like breaching Palace’s organised defence.
The draw moves Bournemouth on to 49 points – a club record in the Premier League – but they remain five points behind seventh-placed Aston Villa, who host Newcastle in Saturday’s late game.
A missed opportunity for Bournemouth
This result will go down as a big missed opportunity for Bournemouth, who will be bitterly frustrated not to have made their numerical advantage count after the interval.
The Cherries had the lion’s share of possession in the first half without properly testing Dean Henderson in the Palace goal, but they could easily have been reduced to 10 men themselves when Scott felled Sarr from behind 10 minutes before Richards’ dismissal.
Palace also felt Tyler Adams, who was cautioned for a foul on Eberechi Eze in the first half, was fortunate to avoid further punishment after tussling with Will Hughes five minutes into the second period.
Scott was replaced at half-time by Lewis Cook, while Adams was hooked for Marcus Tavernier not long after his foul on Hughes as Iraola looked to preserve his team’s one-man advantage.
However, despite applying heavy pressure in the latter stages of the contest, the Cherries rarely looked like making that advantage count.
Indeed, their best opportunity of the game came early in the first half when Dean Huijsen managed to get on the end of Antoine Semenyo’s delivery, but the centre-back was unable to adjust his body position quickly enough to steer the ball past Henderson.
Bournemouth could end the weekend eight points outside of the top seven, although they could also still clinch a place in Europe next season with an eighth-place finish.
Palace hold firm to frustrate Cherries
Despite recent heavy defeats at Manchester City and Newcastle, only four teams had picked up more Premier League points than Palace since 27 October before this weekend’s action, underlining the tremendous job Oliver Glasner has done at Selhurst Park.
The Eagles failed to register a shot on target against Bournemouth but defended resolutely following Richards’ red card to grind out a hard-fought share of the spoils.
Glasner’s team had started brightly, with Jean-Philippe Mateta nearly getting on the end of Daniel Munoz’ low cross from the right – but the striker would have been just offside from the Colombian’s delivery.
Palace were not without their chances in the second half either. Maxence Lacroix was inches away from getting on the end of Hughes’ teasing free-kick five minutes after half-time, while Ilia Zabarnyi’s attempted headed clearance sailed narrowly over his own crossbar following a corner.
As time ticked on, Bournemouth were reduced to hopeful long-range efforts, the last of which was sent flying high over the crossbar by Semenyo.
Palace travel to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday before taking on Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals next Saturday.
