LONDON (AP) – West Ham drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace on Monday, picking up a crucial point in their fight to avoid relegation and ensuring the demise of Wolverhampton Wanderers from the bottom of the Premier League.
Wolves will be unable to accumulate enough points with five games remaining to avoid relegation and will return to the Championship for the first time since 2018.
Relegation seemed inevitable for the Midlands club for much of a disastrous season, but a series of encouraging performances in recent months have failed to save them.
It was a lethargic match in south London that was far from over.
West Ham had the advantage in the early going, but the game remained scoreless at half-time. Palace regained momentum in the second half, but were unable to create many chances and their goalkeeper was not too busy.
Still, the point was welcomed by the Hammers, who move two places ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in 18th place.
“Scoring at the end of the day isn’t the worst thing in the world,” captain Jarrod Bowen said.
“We are trying to keep West Ham in the Premier League. We can’t rely on anyone else. We have to look at ourselves and keep fighting to stay in the Premier League.”
Palace remain in 13th place after winning just three of their last 26 Monday night Premier League games.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s shutout was Palace’s 12th clean sheet of the season, a record bettered only by Arsenal and Manchester City in the top two.
“(This record) is an incredible achievement for our league standings,” Henderson said. “The defensive unit was very good and whoever stepped in was great. That’s the foundation we built on and hopefully we add some goals on the other end.”
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