It was a frustrating goalless afternoon at Selhurst park as Crystal Palace and Sunderland shared a point in a game where opportunities weren’t taken.

The result marks Sunderland’s best start to a top-flight season since 1982, while Palace will take encouragement from a solid defensive performance. They already have five clean sheets this season in all competitions. Both sides favouring counter attacking football, they showed flashes of danger but lacked composure in the final moments.

The best chance of the first half came for Palace as they began to spread their wings. Daichi Kamada split the Sunderland defence with a clever ball to Pino but wasn’t able to showcase a composed finish and dragged his shot wide.

Palaces £26 million late summer signing Yeremy Pino had an abundance of chances today and looks to be a good addition to the Premier League. Another big chance fell to him in the second half as Dean Henderson’s save was parried to him but his shot flew over the bar.

As the rain began to pour, Sunderland grew into the game, with Nordi Mukiele’s long throw causing problems in the Palace penalty area. Despite the pressure, they too lacked the cutting edge to find the winner.

The match became scrappy, with 18 fouls, both teams created opportunities, but finishing wasn’t on show. Palace came the closest at the end when Kamada’s powerful strike looked destined for the top corner but was matched by a good save.

In the end, the stalemate reflected the game’s story. Sunderland now sit in 6^th place with seven points with Palace not far behind in 8^th with six points. There are positives to take for both teams with their defensive structures but with more to be desired at the top of the pitch.