Brentford and Palace grind out goalless draw

Brentford ended their run of Premier League defeats on the day new signing Christian Eriksen was introduced to the fans but a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday did little to soothe the club’s relegation jitters.

A dreadfully dull game was crying out for the watching Dane’s flair as defences ruled the day and the two teams cancelled each other out.

Brentford, who have dropped close to the bottom three after five successive defeats from a tough run of fixtures, had marginally the better opportunities to break the deadlock.

Bryan Mbeumo went close in the first half but could not poke his shot past Palace keeper Vicente Guaita who also saved from Pontus Jansson.

Home keeper David Raya, like his opposite number, had a quiet afternoon but did well to keep out a dipping effort from James McArthur after the break.

There was an anxious moment for Brentford in stoppage time when Wilfried Zaha went down in the penalty area but referee Simon Hooper saw nothing wrong.

The draw kept Brentford in 14th place with 24 points from 25 games, seven points clear of the relegation places.

Palace moved up a spot to 12th with 26 points. (Reuters)