September 13 2025

Palace 0-0 Sunderland

Crystal Palace were forced to settle for a frustrating point as they were held to a goalless draw by newly promoted Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

The match never truly caught fire, with both teams struggling to create clear chances in a drab and disjointed first half.

Palace winger Yeremy Pino looked the most likely to break the deadlock before the interval, finding space on the edge of the box on two occasions, but the Spaniard dragged both efforts wide.

The game briefly sparked into life early in the second half when Jean-Philippe Mateta forced Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs into his first save of the afternoon in the 49th minute. Pino’s follow-up was blocked behind for a corner, raising hopes of a Palace breakthrough.

However, those chances proved to be a false dawn as the Eagles failed to build sustained momentum, while Sunderland never truly threatened going forward.

As the Black Cats began to tire in the closing stages, Palace finally carved out their best opportunities. Roefs twice came to Sunderland’s rescue, first diving low to his right to keep out Daichi Kamada’s fizzing strike, before standing firm to deny Mateta from close range.

The absence of both Eberechi Eze, who departed for Arsenal in the summer, and the injured Ismaila Sarr was keenly felt. Their creativity and pace were sorely missed, leaving Mateta isolated up front for long spells.

Pino, signed as Eze’s £26 million replacement from Villarreal, showed flashes of promise but often drifted inside rather than supplying crosses for last season’s top scorer.

The late flurry of pressure hinted at what could come as Pino and Mateta began to link up, but it wasn’t enough to find a winner against a goalkeeper in inspired form.

The result keeps Palace eighth in the Premier League table, while Sunderland remain sixth. Although the stalemate will feel like two points dropped, it extends Palace’s unbeaten run to 10 league matches – the longest current streak in the division, consisting of three wins and seven draws.

Palace: Henderson, Munoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Mitchell, Hughes, Lerma (Devenny 68) Pino (Uche 84), Kamada, Mateta.

Not used: Benítez, Clyne, Canvot, Sosa, Rodney, Cardines, Esse.

Sunderland: Roefs, Hume, Mukiele, Alderete, Mandava, Diarra, Xhaka, Sadiki (Geertruida 84), Talbi, Adingra (Brobbey 69), Isidor (Rigg 94).

Not used: Patterson, Neil, Maydena, Traore, Masuaku, Jones.