Bournemouth extended their Premier League unbeaten run to six matches but could only manage a draw at home against Crystal Palace.

The Cherries, with a push for Europe on their minds after a 3-0 win at Manchester United last time out, had the bulk of the promising chances but lacked an assured finishing touch.

Andoni Iraola's hosts nearly found a way to open the scoring in the first half but Ismaila Sarr cleared the ball off the line after Antoine Semenyo hooked towards goal from a corner.

Palace thought they had punished Bournemouth for failing to take that chance when Sarr ran through the defence and put the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga soon after, but the Senegal international was offside when he was slipped in.

Neither side could build sustained periods of possession, but an open midfield led to an entertaining game as both attacked in numbers and pressed energetically in defence.

It was end to end as the teams continued to rack up the goal attempts - with Bournemouth looking likelier to break the deadlock - but despite best efforts it ended in Boxing Day stalemate.

This was a tiring afternoon for Bournemouth, who had 18 goal attempts but only hit the target with four.

Iraola's side were relentless in their pursuit of a goal and ramped up the pressure as the game went on, throwing numbers forward in an attempt to overwhelm the visitors. They registered 1.19 expected goals (xG) but could not put the ball away.

Full-back Milos Kerkez was instrumental in their attacking efforts and consistently looked to make positive moves, charging up the left flank with the ball at his feet to spark dangerous transitions.

They were far from one-dimensional on the front foot, though, with Justin Kluivert linking up play, Dango Ouattara causing trouble with his neat footwork and Semenyo regularly looking to take on Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

Semenyo toiled in the final third throughout, slicing wide from the edge of the box and sending a powerful header to the side of Henderson's goal as he missed two excellent late opportunities.

Introducing Evanilson and Tyler Adams in the second half resulted in the momentum staying firmly in the Cherries' favour.

Brazilian Evanilson proved much tougher for the Palace defence to handle than the man he replaced, Enes Unal, but Bournemouth's efforts were fruitless despite them controlling the closing stages.

They sit sixth for now in the table, a point ahead of out-of-sorts champions Manchester City, with Palace remaining uncomfortably close to the relegation zone.

Palace came into this game off two painful defeats by Arsenal that put paid to a five-game unbeaten run, so a point on the south coast was a welcome outcome as they held back a dangerous Bournemouth side.

Having Eberechi Eze back from injury is a significant boost for the Eagles, with his tricky runs down the wings sparking many of their attempts to tip the balance.

Despite an early flurry of opportunities, it still rarely seemed like Palace could go on to take all three points.

They faced a Bournemouth onslaught that increased in intensity, and frequent misplaced passes from Oliver Glasner's side opened up opportunities for the Cherries to attack.

Ultimately, with a helping hand from the Cherries lacking the clinical edge they displayed on Sunday at Old Trafford, Palace managed to grind out some reward from a tiring game.