Everton draw at Palace but remain deep in trouble

Crystal Palace edged closer to Premier League survival with a drab goalless draw against Everton, who finished the game with 10 men and drop into the bottom three.

Everton grew into the game after a disjointed start, their best chance of the first half coming when Alex Iwobi’s first-time effort from Tyrick Mitchell’s clearance was pushed away by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

Eberechi Eze thought he had broken the deadlock early in the second half after lifting the ball over Jordan Pickford, but the 24-year-old was denied a fourth goal in three games by an offside flag.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, making his first start since early February, fired narrowly wide not long afterwards, before Mason Holgate was dismissed for a second bookable offence late on.

No way through for Palace

After flirting with relegation for the past few months, Palace can surely start planning for a 10th successive top-flight campaign after stretching their unbeaten start to life under Hodgson to four matches.

The Eagles move on to 37 points, nine points clear of the bottom three with just six games of the season remaining.

There was little to shout about for either side in a disjointed first half, with both giving the ball away cheaply in midfield and struggling to create any meaningful opportunities.

Olise’s tame effort was the closest Palace came to a breakthrough before half-time, but they had the better opportunities in the second half and looked the likeliest to find a winner in the latter stages.

Eze produced a confident finish from Marc Guehi’s lofted pass but was clearly offside, while second-half substitute Luka Milivojevic had a rasping shot deflected narrowly wide.

Holgate was dismissed with 10 minutes remaining, but Palace were unable to press home their numerical advantage.

More to follow

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