Crystal Palace vs Everton. Premier League.
Selhurst ParkAttendance25,151.
Report and highlights as Wilfried Zaha comes on as second-half substitute during goalless draw at Selhurst Park
Saturday 10 August 2019 19:25, UK
Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off as Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday.
Gylfi Sigurdsson and Seamus Coleman both wasted good first-half chances for the visitors before Jordan Pickford made two smart saves to deny Jordan Ayew and Max Meyer in the second period.
Schneiderlin was dismissed for a second bookable offence (76) after catching Luka Milivojevic, but Palace were unable to make their numerical advantage count.
Wilfried Zaha received a good reception from the home supporters after coming on a substitute for Roy Hodgson's side, but despite flashes of his usual trickery, he was unable to convert a point into three for the hosts.
Only Manchester City (13) have kept more Premier League clean sheets so far in 2019 than Everton - but it is in attacking areas where they are still falling short: Marco Silva's men only scored three goals in pre-season, underlining why Zaha was a summer target, and it was their wastefulness in front of goal that denied them from taking a first-half lead.
Sigurdsson missed a glorious chance to break the deadlock inside two minutes as Lucas Digne's cross deflected into his path, but the midfielder dragged his shot wide.
Coleman was next to have a presentable opportunity after 32 minutes as Vicente Guaita was forced into a smart point-blank save to deny the full-back before Dominic Calvert-Lewin flashed a header from Bernard's cross wide as Everton continued to assert themselves.
Referee Jon Moss referred to VAR moments later to check a possible red card following a high boot from Milivojevic on Bernard, but the officials swiftly carried out the check and deemed the Serbian had not been guilty of foul play.
Palace ended the opening period the stronger of the two sides as Scott Dann saw his header deflect wide, before Andre Gomes was forced off the field with an ankle injury following a challenge from James McArthur.
Everton began the re-start in confident fashion as Patrick Van Aanholt was in the right place to clear Sigurdsson's shot off the line - but it was Palace who then took control as the loss of the influential Gomes began to be felt.
Pickford had been a virtual spectator during the first 45 minutes, but he was forced into a double save just shy of the hour mark as the England No 1 first kept out Ayew's effort before Meyer's near-post shot was tipped around the post.
Richarlison's snap shot on the counter veered a yard wide of the post, but Schneiderlin then departed after catching Milivojevic in front of Moss.
Despite Zaha injecting greater urgency into the Palace attack, Everton held firm in the final quarter of an hour, leaving manager Marco Silva to ponder what the transfer target might have been able to offer his side.
When Everton were in the ascendancy during a bright opening 30 minutes, it was boyhood Liverpool fan Dann whose positioning in the absence of James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho denied Everton from converting their dominance into a lead.
Moise Kean entered the fray to offer something different to Calvert-Lewin, but Dann - alongside the equally impressive Martin Kelly - protected Vicente Guaita. On this evidence, Gary Cahill may struggle to get into the side.
Roy Hodgson: "As the game wore on, we got better, and if any side were going to win it in the second half, it would've been us, especially after the sending off.
"It was two well-matched organised teams, so a 0-0 was always going to be on the cards. We've had a strange pre-season with a lot of players not even in the building.
"Zaha did well when he came on. He's a little bit rusty, there's no doubt about that after three weeks away on holiday, so he'll need a bit of time to find his true form."
Marco Silva: "It was a tough game - it was competitive like I expected and we produced a very good first half. We created some good chances, and during the first period, we had two or three clear chances. We controlled the game apart from a few dangerous moments. We then lost Andre (Gomes), and our team felt it.
"Jean-Philippe (Gbamin) came on and it was clear he had some problems. He needs some adaptation like all players, and it's clear to me that young players need time to adapt. We lost some balls in zones we cannot and they created counter-attacking chances as a result."
Crystal Palace travel to face Sheffield United on Sunday August 18, live on Sky Sports Premier League (KO: 2pm), while Everton host Watford at Goodison Park a day earlier (KO: 3pm).
