Burnley took another step towards Premier League safety with a hard-fought point at Crystal Palace.
Jeffrey Schlupp gave Palace the perfect start, flicking in from Michael Olise’s inviting cross with the hosts going on to dominate the first period.
But Burnley, who had won their previous two top-flight games, levelled a minute after the break when Eagles captain Luka Milivojevic turned Aaron Lennon’s driven cross into his own goal.
The much-improved visitors also saw Wout Weghorst twice go close to scoring, with the Dutch forward seeing a header tipped over by home goalkeeper Jack Butland and having an effort disallowed for offside.
However, Palace had opportunities of their own to record a winner with Wilfried Zaha powering an effort straight at Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope and then rattling the post moments later.
The result leaves Palace in 11th in the table, with Burnley in 18th, one point behind Everton and within touching distance of Leeds and Brentford having the benefit of games in hand on the latter two.
Both teams came into this contest aiming to build upon excellent midweek results, Burnley having beaten Tottenham and Palace thrashing Watford.
However, while Burnley’s need for points is greater as they seek to climb out of the bottom three for the first time since 30 October – a task not helped by having suffered an 11-game winless run until mid-February – it was Palace who showed greater desire early on.
The hosts controlled the midfield and out wide and Michael Olise was the Clarets’ chief tormentor.
The 20-year-old tricked and teased Erik Pieters for most of the first period as the Burnley left-back and his team-mates struggled to contain the former Reading winger.
Olise twice went close to adding to the lead he played a central role in obtaining, flashing a deflected shot just over the bar and forcing Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope into a fine save.
The youngster had more shots (four) than any other home player and, with the exception of defender Joachim Andersen, more touches and he remained a threat until the closing stages.
Burnley arrived at Selhurst Park aiming for a third consecutive win in the top flight for the first time since April 2019.
And while they did not quite manage to achieve that, manager Sean Dyche will nonetheless have been delighted by his team’s response after the break to secure a seventh point from the last nine available.
Having looked sluggish at times, the Clarets began to play on the front foot and were clearly buoyed by their equaliser.
With Weghorst and Jay Rodriguez leading from the front, they hustled and harried Palace into mistakes and more than merited their draw.
Source – BBC Sport
