Christian Benteke missed an injury-time penalty as Jermain Defoe frustrated Crystal Palace with two well-taken goals to help Bournemouth claim a riveting 2-2 Premier League draw.
Cherries goalkeeper Asmir Begovic pushed away Benteke’s tame effort as both teams shared the points on a cold evening at Selhurst Park.
Defoe put the visitors ahead 10 just minutes into Saturday’s clash after finishing a well-worked short corner routine from Andrew Surman’s cross. But Palace roared back with two goals in three minutes.
Begovic was judged to have fouled Wilfried Zaha, and Luka Milivojevic stepped up to tuck away the penalty after 41 minutes. Scott Dann steered home Yohan Cabaye’s ball across the face of goal, but Defoe had the final say after a hysterical finish to the half.
The Eagles won another late penalty in second-half injury time, but Benteke stepped up instead of Milivojevic – only to see Begovic deny him from 12 yards.
There were no goals in the second half, but it was not short of entertainment. Here’s how the Bournemouth players fared in the exciting 2-2 stalemate vs Crystal Palace
He was guilty of conceding a first-half penalty but made amends by making a heroic injury-time save, denying Benteke from the spot-kick and Palace’s three mighty points.
He was decent at the back. None of his mistakes resulted as Crystal Palace’s goals.
The skipper was quite solid at the back and dealt Benteke quite well.
He forged a good partnership with Francis to keep Benteke at bay.
He was culpable of giving away a penalty in the stoppage time by tackling Zaha, despite him winning a part of the ball. Thankfully, Begovic saved Daniel’s blushes.
Stanislas could not really make anything happen in terms of chances but he did put in an effort. He was a bit sloppy in the first-half and was taken off at the hour mark.
The Englishman offered invention and guile to Bournemouth. Faded after the interval.
His cross from the corner was met very well by Defoe, who opened the scoring.
Put in another industrious show. His speed can be a menace to any defence. Sadly, he couldn’t impact the game as he’d have hoped to.
He linked up well with Defoe but never really threatened the Palace back-line. Nevertheless, a positive display.
Defoe rolled back the years with two fantastic goals. His electric pace might have gone but the technique is very much intact. The veteran was buzzing around and scored the opener with a tidy finish. The second one was sublime as he managed to loop a half-volley over Julian Speroni from an acute angle to equalise before the break. What a brilliant display!
Came in for Stanislas after the hour mark and added zest and energy to the side.
Entered the fray in the 87th minute. Had very little time to make an impact for the visitors.
Nothing significant except his effort that brought an appeal in the dying seconds of the game from the Bournemouth players for a penalty.
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