Brentford 0-0 Crystal Palace: Bees end run of five straight league defeats
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Crystal Palace remain two points above Brentford, who picked up their first point in six Premier League fixtures
Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira says talent alone "is not going to be enough" for his side after Saturday's goalless draw with Brentford left them still searching for their first Premier League win of 2022.
Jordan Ayew skewed a shot wide in the Eagles' best opening of the match and they also had a late penalty appeal turned down, but other than that the visitors rarely looked like finding a breakthrough.
"It's fantastic to have talent in your team, but we need a plan together," Vieira told BBC Match of the Day.
"How can we create chances and score goals? At the moment, that's a step forward we need to make as a team."
Brentford, who were without top scorer Ivan Toney through injury, just about shaded the first half and went closest to breaking the deadlock when Bryan Mbeumo was denied by Palace keeper Vicente Guaita in a one-on-one.
Guaita made another fine save to keep out Pontus Jansson's powerful header in the second half, but there was precious little to shout about in an encounter that lacked both quality and urgency.
The draw lifts Palace above Leicester into 12th - two places and points above Brentford, who sit seven points above the relegation zone.
Bees halt slide as Eriksen introduced
Christian Eriksen appeared on the Brentford Community Stadium pitch before kick-off - eight months to the day since his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020
There were jubilant scenes before kick-off as the Bees' January signing Christian Eriksen was introduced to the Brentford Community Stadium crowd.
The Dane received a warm reception from both sets of supporters - eight months to the day since he suffered a cardiac arrest in a match against Finland at Euro 2020 - but Bees boss Thomas Frank admitted it would be "too early" to play his 29-year-old compatriot against Patrick Vieira's side. He will instead feature in a friendly on Monday.
"I hope someone could record [Eriksen's reception]," Frank told BBC Match of the Day. "I'm pleased that the Crystal Palace fans applauded him. It'll be a big moment in world football when he steps out on to the pitch to play.
"We're pleased he's with us, but we'd have supported him whichever club he was with."
Palace didn't create 'problems' for Brentford - Vieira
This game could have done with a player of Eriksen's calibre, as both teams struggled to assert their authority in an underwhelming first half. Mbeumo almost poked Brentford ahead from Sergi Canos' pass just before the half-hour mark, before Ayew sliced horribly wide at the other end after Odsonne Edouard dispossessed Christian Norgaard.
Brentford also felt they should have been given a penalty when Palace defender Marc Guehi handled the ball under pressure from Norgaard, but Simon Hooper's decision to award the visitors a free-kick for Norgaard's shove was confirmed by the video assistant referee.
Both teams appeared increasingly content to settle for a point the longer the second half wore on. Wilfried Zaha went to ground under Rico Henry's tug-back in stoppage time, but the challenge was not deemed worthy of a penalty by VAR.
Frank's side were offered more warm applause at full-time after picking up their first point since 2 January - not to mention a first clean sheet since a 1-0 victory over Everton on 28 November.
"We created good opportunities," said Frank. "We gave one chance away which was our only mistake, I'd say. If we can keep that up, we'll be in a good place.
"There are a lot of positives to take from this game."
Brentford defended with 'urgency & discipline' - Frank
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