Key stats
- Callum Hudson-Odoi scored his first Premier League goal since netting the winner against Man City in March, ending a run of eight games without a goal
- Since the start of last season, Will Hughes has more Premier League yellow cards than any other player (13)
- Nottingham Forest have scored in their last 8 Premier League away games
Highlights
Analysis
Ibrahim Sangare completed 55/58 accurate passes (95 per cent) in Nottingham Forest's midfield against Palace.
Crystal Palace were dominant in the first half but were pressed back by Forst in the second.
Match report
Given the pre-season drama that surrounded these clubs, regarding which European competitions they would compete in this fixture was always likely to have a bit of needle to it.
As it was, the side that took FA Cup winners Palace’s place in the UEFA Europa League almost struck first, but Chris Wood could only volley Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross narrowly wide of the target.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between in the first half, and it took Palace until the half-hour mark to manufacture their first sight of goal, which came when Jean-Philippe Mateta unleashed a rasper from the edge of the area, only for Matz Sels to thwart his thumping drive.
Less than 10 minutes later though, Sels was picking the ball out the back of his own net.
Daniel Muñoz was the architect in the build up, clipping an inch-perfect cross onto the right boot of Ismaïla Sarr, who made no mistake in steering the ball back where it came from and into the corner.
Forest were under immense pressure towards the end of the opening 45 minutes, and they were fortunate to get into the break just a goal behind, as with the last kick of the first half, Marc Guéhi headed Adam Wharton’s teasing free-kick against the outside of the post.
The HT break didn’t stem Palace’s momentum and they came out firing on all cylinders once again.
Will Hughes missed a good chance to double their advantage shortly after the restart, and his miss looked even more costly a matter of minutes later when Forest finally produced a moment of quality.
Dan Ndoye’s defence-splitting pass from deep inside his own half sent Callum Hudson-Odoi racing clear on goal and he made no mistake in rifling past former Forest stopper Dean Henderson at his near post.
Forest perhaps were the more willing of the two sides in search of a late winner, introducing in the region of £90m of summer recruits off the bench, but Nuno Espírito Santo’s men ultimately came up short in their attempts to start a top-flight season with two wins for the first time since 1987/88 under Brian Clough.
Palace have started their campaign with two draws, and turning those into wins is a clear area of improvement for Oliver Glasner’s men, who’ve now drawn six of their last eight Premier League games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace)
Post-match comments
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo to Sky Sports:
"The bond that was created with the team and the fans is there to stay. It is unbreakable due to the fantastic moments we had last season.
"It was a beautiful journey - it will stick in our memories forever. No matter what happens, we will have this respect and mutual love.
"I believe that that is the only way to operate in a football club, if everybody is on the same page.
"It is helping in the same direction, so hopefully we can do it this week and move forward - and take these nonsense questions and narrative away."
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner to BBC Sport:
"I think both sides deserved the draw. We took the lead, but our legs looked a little fatigued. We've had an intense start to the season. In the end, the result is fair.
"We always know we can count on our supporters and fans. They did it again. It's always great to play at Selhurst.
"I'm more or less delighted with our start to the season. This was our fourth competitive game, fourth time unbeaten. There's a lot of noise around us but a lot of credit to the players to deal with the situation."