Bournemouth falter in race for Europe as 10-man Crystal Palace scrape draw

It is unlikely anyone will remember this game fondly in years to come. Bournemouth missed the chance to make up ground in the race for European football next season as 10-man Crystal Palace stood firm after a week of two heavy defeats in which they conceded five goals twice.

A red card for Chris Richards at the end of the first half left his side with an uphill task to make it five successive home wins after the referee, Sam Barrott, had bizarrely decided against meting out the same punishment to Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

While some of Palace’s players looked as if their minds were on next Saturday’s trip to Wembley, Andoni Iraola was frustrated his team could not take advantage as they failed to win for an 11th successive time in London since their triumph here in December 2023.

“Considering how the game has gone we cannot be happy with a point. It was a game that we should have won,” said the Bournemouth manager, whose side have nonetheless surpassed the club’s record points tally in the Premier League with five matches still to play, including meetings with Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa in their next three. “I hope that we can be in this fight until the last game.”

Oliver Glasner revealed that a meeting with his players after their return from the 5-0 thrashing against Newcastle had “changed completely” the mood in his squad. The news that the outstanding right wing-back Daniel Muñoz has extended his contract until 2028 was another reason to feel optimistic as they prepare for an FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa. It was a 4-1 victory over Unai Emery’s side here in February that kickstarted their winning home run, although they will hope for better treatment from the officials if they are to stand a chance of reaching the final.

“What we need is consistency. It’s either two red cards or no red cards,” said Glasner. “This was the feeling everyone had at half-time. It’s really difficult to deal with this situation so I’m pleased with how they responded. We could have collapsed, but we didn’t and now the confidence is coming back.”

Iraola is set to hold talks with the Bournemouth, owner Bill Foley, next week over extending his contract that ends next year with reported interest from Tottenham. The Spaniard is not the only Bournemouth employee who is coveted elsewhere. Antoine Semenyo, who was rejected by Palace as a teenager and has been linked with a move to Manchester United, was the game’s best performer and he had the first sight of goal after a quiet start from both sides. But the Ghana forward mis-hit a shot and a deflection took Dean Huijsen by surprise at the back post as the ball struck him on the hip.

Bookings for central midfielders Tyler Adams and Scott were all the home supporters had to get excited about as Palace struggled to find their rhythm in attack. By contrast, Bournemouth looked a threat every time they poured forward as Semenyo – who could cost up to £70m this summer if reports are to be believed – and Justin Kluivert found space in between the lines. Scott looked extremely relieved to escape another yellow card after hauling down Ismaïla Sarr just outside the area, but a strangely subdued Eberechi Eze struck the wall with the resulting free kick.

Disaster struck for Palace on the stroke of half-time when Richards, who had been cautioned for a foul on Dango Ouattara, was dismissed for pulling back Kluivert. The referee left the pitch to a chorus of boos at half-time and there were more when the fortunate Scott was replaced by Lewis Cook for the second half.

Glasner sacrificed Eze to bring on Jefferson Lerma against his former club and an already bad-tempered game threatened to spill over as another three players were cautioned within five minutes of the restart. Evanilson’s header from an Adam Smith cross that looped just wide of Dean Henderson’s goal was the closest Bournemouth came to scoring.

It was Palace who almost snatched the points at the end when Muñoz failed to connect with a cross from the right and Bournemouth were able to scramble the ball away just in time. Their winless run in the capital goes on, but there is still hope for Bournemouth.