Nottingham Forest suffered another setback in their bid for a top-five finish in the Premier League, drawing 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Despite a brief second-half comeback to cancel out Eberechi Eze’s penalty, the result leaves Forest two points adrift of Champions League qualification, having won just one of their last five league games.
First Half – Missed Chances and Missed Opportunities
With rivals Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Chelsea all winning recently, Forest approached the game with the pressure to respond. However, they got off to a slow start in south London, narrowly missing out on giving Palace the lead when a misjudged back pass from Tyrick Mitchell almost beat Dean Henderson in the opening exchanges.
Mitchell remained a key player and helped create the first notable chance of the match around the half-hour mark. His through ball found Daniel Muñoz at the far post, whose volley was well saved by Matz Sels. Forest, however, created the best chance of the half, showcasing their trademark counter-attacking style. Chris Wood set up Anthony Elanga after a quick break, but the Swedish winger’s effort was brilliantly saved by Henderson.
Second half – Drama, penalty and response
The game intensified early in the second half, with a frantic 14-second period. Ismaïla Sarr was denied from close range by Sels before Forest immediately took the lead at the other end, where Maxence Lacroix made a last-minute counterattack to deny Chris Wood his historic 10th away league goal of the season.
VAR intervened just before the hour mark, awarding a penalty after a collision between Sels and Mitchell in the box. Eze confidently converted the penalty, scoring his third goal in as many games, giving Palace the lead.
But the lead lasted only a minute and Forest responded immediately: Neco Williams’ low shot was deflected off Murillo’s outstretched leg to level the game.
Late efforts but no decisive breakthrough
Despite the lively exchanges, clear-cut chances were few and far between late in the match. Eze came close to scoring the winner with a curling shot that hit the crossbar. Substitute Eddie Nketiah did indeed put the goal into the back of the net in stoppage time, but his attempt was ruled out for offside.
Ultimately, sharing the points hardly benefits either team. Forest’s hopes of a top-five finish are now seriously compromised, especially after spending much of the season in third place. Palace, meanwhile, are heading for another season in the bottom half of the table – their ninth in ten Premier League seasons.
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