Palace and Sunderland play out drab goalless draw

Crystal Palace were held to a frustrating goalless draw by newly promoted Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

Both sides struggled to find any rhythm in a drab and underwhelming opening 45 minutes.

Palace winger Yeremy Pino looked the most likely to break the deadlock but fired wide on two occasions after finding pockets of space on the edge of the box.

Jean-Philippe Mateta struck the game's first shot on target in the 49th minute, forcing a save out of Robin Roefs with Pino's rebound blocked away for a corner.

That double chance brought about hope of the match sparking into life but Palace were unable to build any momentum and Sunderland never got going.

The Black Cats looked fatigued as the game entered the final 15 minutes and had to rely on Roefs to get away with a share of the points.

Roefs was on call to deny Daichi Kamada - getting down quickly to turn away the attempt as it fizzed across the slick surface - before standing tall to palm away a close-range attempt from Mateta.

The draw keeps Palace sitting eighth in the Premier League with Sunderland remaining sixth.

Crystal Palace analysis: Eagles still adjusting

Palace are still adjusting to life without Eberechi Eze, who left for Arsenal in the summer, and also weren't helped by the absence of the injured Ismaila Sarr.

Eze and Sarr were the perfect complement for Mateta last term but without either of them on the field today, the French striker lacked service and looked isolated.

Pino, who was signed as Eze's replacement, showed signs of why Palace parted with £26m to bring him in from Villarreal but offers a completely different kind of attacking threat.

The Spain forward regularly drifted into central areas rather than staying wide and putting in crosses for last season's top scorer Mateta.

It did start to click a little better late in the game as Sunderland tired but the Eagles came up against a goalkeeper in form.

The draw means Palace are on the longest unbeaten run of any current Premier League side, avoiding defeat in each of their last 10 games - winning three and drawing seven.

Sunderland analysis: Black Cats didn't click

Sunderland invested heavily over the summer - spending in the region of £180m on 15 permanent deals and two loan signings - and they looked like a team that still needs time to gel.

Regis le Bris was without talented winger Enzo le Fee and opted to start Wilson Isidor after the striker had scored twice from the bench to start the campaign.

But Isidor, who scored 13 times for the Black Cats last term, was unable to impose himself on the game as the visitors failed to register a single shot on target.

Roefs was Sunderland's standout performer and the reason they held on for a draw.

Picking up victories at the Stadium of Light will be the primary task for Sunderland - back in the top flight for the first time since 2016-17 - so a point on the road will be warmly accepted.

What's next for these teams?

Crystal Palace return to action on Tuesday at 20:00 against Championship outfit Millwall in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Sunderland lost in the opening round of the Carabao Cup so don't have a midweek fixture to prepare for.

The Black Cats welcome Aston Villa to the Stadium of Light for their next outing at 14:00 on Sunday, 21 September.