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Premier League
Crystal Palace 0-0 West Ham United 

Monday, 20th April 2026
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread

An anxious West Ham could only draw 0-0 this Monday evening at Selhurst Park, blowing a chance to put more pressure on Tottenham and give themselves some breathing room in 17th place at a distracted Crystal Palace.

In what was a terrible game of football, The Hammers barely got going outside a five-minute spell on the stroke of half time, and as the game wore on, it was West Ham clinging onto a point as Palace made changes and came forward with fresh players against waning opposition.




It leaves them back to where they were at the start of the weekend in regards to Spurs, two points clear with five games to go, but wins for Nottingham Forest and Leeds have started to make this relegation battle look like a two-horse race.

West Ham went into the game unchanged, buoyed by a big win over 10 days earlier, and looking like they have got their best team out on the pitch. Palace were missing a handful of their best players, with Kamada, Mateta, Sarr and the injured Wharton not starting as the Eagles came back to normality after winning away and making it through to the Europa Conference League semi finals.

The Hammers are slow starters, and looked a little nervy again as a large majority of the first half played out with chances and moments of quality at a minimum. The hosts looked disjointed, whether it was all their changes or a bit of a hangover from celebrations at the weekend, and it contributed to an opening 45 minutes that was mostly forgettable.

For much of it, the game felt like a highlight reel of Brennan Johnson's flailing confidence, his lack of form evident in almost everything he did. The former Spurs man, maybe the only person in the stadium who would like to see his former side stay up, was guilty of mis-controls and poor decisions that hampered his team's attacks and often resulted in silly fouls given away unnecessarily.

Whilst there was a Strand Larsen flick and a Castellanos blast from outside the box to slowly bring action around either goal, it was the Welsh winger who had the first real chance of the game, and the best of the half.

It came from Lerma moving forward through midfield, let go far too easily as he played wide then carried on and picked the ball back up again around the box. A turn gave him ample space to pick out a wonderful curling cross into the area from out wide, and with the hulking figure of Strand Larsen a clear focal point for the defenders, Johnson ghosted in between the pair of centre backs and was free as he met the cross from 12 yards out.

With all the space and a great position in the centre of goal, he should have done far better than head comfortably wide.

The best The Hammers had shown was defensive work, especially in midfield where Soucek and Fernandes were showing their discipline and awareness to steal possession and cover dangerous areas.

Summerville had a glimpse of goal a minute after Johnson's big miss, played forward by Bowen and carrying it into the box, but he looked tentative when one-on-one with Richards, failing to shift it into any space before rushing a shot that the defender blocked comfortably.

A first corner of the game, 31 minutes in, produced nothing but a Disasi whiffed effort when easily offside, but it was from here that West Ham started to find their way into the game. As half-time approached, it was the visitors on top.




A great chance fell to Castellanos after Diouf had looped in a hopeful volley. Bowen headed back into the middle, and Henderson could only punch it down into the box once more.

Castellanos reacted fantastically, an acrobatic overhead net well and on its way in, if not for Lacroix covering his goal and blocking it before it could find its way into the back of the net.

A minute before the break, Diouf found real quality, slipping past Johnson and curling a fantastic cross into the box, and Mavropanos peeled away to the back post to meet it. His powerful header back across goal looked destined to open the scoring, but Henderson was alert, a fist flying out at full stretch to punch the ball away and keep the scores level.

A Mitchell break ended the half, stealing possession with an interception in his own half, flying through a lazy challenge by Fernandes, and all the way to the West Ham box, but dragged his effort wide as the half ended in a manner that suited much of the half, just short of quality.

Unfortunately, a poor first half was followed by an even worse second as West Ham began to fade, and then the fear of defeat seemed to leave them prioritising defence as their legs started to fail them.

The defence was strong, Disasi in particular, and all of the back five was aware of danger and reacted well to ensure the clean sheet remained intact. Strand Larsen was bullied out of the game by West Ham's Chelsea loanee, and Diouf was excellent up and down the whole of the left flank.

With an hour to go, Glasner was ready to use his cavalry. On came Mateta, Kamada and Sarr as the home side brought on their best three players with fresh legs for the final half hour.

It seemed to just knock them whatever wind was left out of West Ham lungs, and they started to fade.

Maybe with fresher legs, maybe with less anxiety, things could have been different. Would Castellanos have stayed in his feet when he pounced to win possession on the edge of the Palace box, but stumbled trying to take it in? Who knows, but those glimpses of chances were not falling the way that Nuno's side needed them to.

It's in games like this that the lack of depth in this squad is punishing. As Palace brought on dangerous players from their bench, Nuno had to consider how Wilson, Traore, Kante and others would contribute. Whilst they were fresher, the dip in quality is clear when they replace any of the starters.




Wilson was eventually thrown on for Pablo with 15 minutes left, and whilst the away fans may have called for him, the drop in defending and work rate up front was evident, even from Pablo with 75 minutes of running in his legs compared to Wilson coming off the bench.

In a way, it's remarkable that this side have managed to make this a relegation battle with the position they were in and the limits to their squad.

Wilson is a fine poacher, but offers little else. It was only Kante who came on to join him off the bench, replacing Castellanos, but he's a raw prospect, and there were no kind comparisons to the pair they had replaced. Considering the importance of the bench and the squad in the modern game, Nuno is managing with one hand tied behind his back.

As The Hammers were hanging on, Palace looked like they may have stolen a winner. They may have ended the game better, but neither side had deserved a victory, yet Sarr had smashed one into the back of the net and was off celebrating before the whistle was blown.

It had come from poor defending, as a cross was headed up into the air around six yards from goal. Hermansen made it difficult, staying on his line when any goalkeeper should have stepped out to catch it, and Mateta won the dropping ball. He knocked it down to Sarr, inside the six-yard-box, and he spun to volley the bouncing ball into the roof of the net.

Luckily for West Ham, the referee and assistant spotted his Mateta had flicked it on, his arm out to win the ball before the defender, and West Ham were given a reprieve.

It was the last real chance. Palace looked for gaps, but found little creativity. A late break for West Ham was smothered away for a last-gasp corner, but as they had been throughout the game, the corner wasn't threatening, the defence cleared, and the whistle blew to end West Ham's first 0-0 draw away from home since December 2021.

Which meant a point gained, but whether you see it as two dropped or a solid draw may depend on your anxiety levels as this relegation scrap keeps tension high.

Next is Everton at the London Stadium, a team better away than at home, and fighting for European football next season. A favour from David Moyes seems unlikely, so West Ham are set for another tight game against a difficult and stubborn opponent.

By the end of the weekend, The Hammers could well find themselves in the bottom three again, with Spurs headed to a Wolves side that looks like it has fought its last fight, especially as West Ham's point tonight confirmed their relegation.

There are twists and turns to come, and no breathing space made tonight.




Manager's Rating

Nuno Espirito Santo: 5/10 He's limited in his options, but he probably needs to be a bit more creative with them. Magassa and Potts won't score, but add workrate and bite. Wan-Bissaka was fresh legs that could have helped attack the right wing. Traore unused whilst his team faded. He may well think, with his team not near their best, it was a good point to take away from home, but there was a game to be won and they never looked like winning it.

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Player Ratings

Mads Hermansen
Looked nervy in moments, and then commanded well in others. A sloppy save of a shot well wide gifted Palace a corner when his side were shaking, and the goal would never have had the chance to even make it to Mateta's handball if the goalkeeper had come and claimed a ball that should have unquestionably been his.


Kyle Walker-Peters
Some nice touches and responsible defending, but his crossing into the box was poor and he often had the space for better. It was the kind of game that Wan-Bissaka would have enjoyed, with space often opened up for a galloping full back, and maybe Nuno should have given his fresh legs half an hour.


El Hadji Malick Diouf
A threat going forward, with some fantastic crosses, and another very sharp and strong game in defence. There were a few crosses that he played in without the angle for what he was trying, and they were overhit, but he was more of an attacking threat than most of his teammates and some of his crosses deserved more.


Axel Disasi
Completely outplayed Strand Larsen and absolutely dominated until Mateta came on, and then had the better of the big French striker, for the most part. A class act and one whose control of the defence earned his side a point.


Konstantinos Mavropanos
Some very good moments at the back, to go with just a generally high standard of defending. Unlucky not to score.


Tomas Soucek
Defensively sharp and strong around and in his own box. He becomes a spare centre back and does it well, but battles in the middle like the warrior we know he is.


Mateus Fernandes
Much the same as Soucek. Some of his better passing didn't really come to the fore, but his responsible and disciplined midfield work was key at keeping the scores level and coveting for an attack that wasn't working.


Pablo Felipe
Worked hard and kept a good pressing shape with Castellanos. Had a decent effort blocked on the way to goal, but never looked dangerous.


Crysencio Summerville
The odd moment of quick feet was not enough to lift this to an acceptable performance. It was all show, no final product as he beat men in tight spaces and rarely got anything with it. Well marshalled, and it's tough against a back five as the wide centre can cover any gaps from the wing back, and the two midfielders sat deep to limit space. Needs to find more, but also needs sides who will leave space for the counter.


Jarrod Bowen
He was defended very, very well by both Mitchell and Canvot, the latter probably man of the match. He didn't look sharp, and got more and more sluggish as the game went on. It may be that he needs to play up front late in these games, and that Traore coming in on the right is better than Wilson through the middle. Never looked at it.


Taty Castellanos
Very unlucky with his overhead kick, Henderson was beaten, and led the press in a commanding way, forcing Summerville and Bowen to come up with him. The service wasn't great, and he worked relentlessly to make more from the very little West Ham offered, but fumbled two good chances with poor control or decision making.

Substitutes

Callum Wilson
(Pablo 75') Made no impact on the game, his best moment holding off a defender so he couldn't jump for a ball that went through to Castellanos.


Mohamadou Kante
(Castellanos 84') One big run late on didn't end with anything dangerous and he was just there for his fresh legs.


Alphonse Areola
Did not play.


Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Did not play.


Ollie Scarles
Did not play.


Jean-Clair Todibo
Did not play.


Freddie Potts
Did not play.


Soungoutou Magassa
Did not play.


Adama Traore
Did not play.

Match Facts

West Ham United: Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Axel Disasi, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Pablo Felipe, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Taty Castellanos.

Goals: None.

Booked: None booked.           .

Sent Off: None sent off.     .

Crystal Palace: Henderson (c), Richards, Lacroix, Canvot, Munoz, Hughes (Kamada 59), Lerma, Mitchell, Johnson (Devenny 78), Pino (Sarr 59), Strand Larsen (Mateta 59).

Subs not used: Benítez, Clyne, Riad, Sosa, Cardines.

Goals: .

Booked: Johnson, Munoz.

Sent off: None.

Referee: Darren England.

Attendance: 24,974.

Man of the Match: Axel Disasi.