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Forest out of bottom three after draw against Palace

Forest out of bottom three after draw against Palace
Nottingham Forest fight back to secure a point against Crystal Palace and move out of the Premier League relegation zone.
Chris Wood heading the ball for Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest fought back to secure a point against Crystal Palace at the City Ground and move out of the Premier League relegation zone.

The hosts fell behind in their first match since being docked four points for financial rules breaches, with Jean-Philippe Mateta slotting home Eberechi Eze's perfect lay-off.

But Chris Wood equalised just after the hour mark, nodding Morgan Gibbs-White's floated pass over oncoming Palace keeper Dean Henderson for his 10th goal of the season.

Nuno Espirito Santo's Forest had dropped into the bottom three after their points deduction, but this point moved them up to 17th - above Luton on goal difference.

Forest, who are winless since beating West Ham on 17 February, nearly fell to a fourth defeat in five leagues games late on but Daniel Munoz's 90th-minute header hit the post.

England winger Eze proved the danger man for Oliver Glasner's Palace throughout, forcing Forest keeper Matz Sels into two outstanding saves when one-on-one either side of half-time.

But the visitors failed to make the most of their chances and could not secure a fourth away win of the season, as Forest remained unbeaten against Palace in the Premier League.

The Trent End at the City Ground

Display of defiance from Forest

Forest came out fighting on the field after the deduction which dropped them into the relegation zone - and the home fans followed suit.

A banner in the Trent End before kick-off displayed the words "we shall fight and we shall overcome".

Forest have already announced they will appeal against their punishment, but it is on the pitch where they need to start winning points if they want to distance themselves from the bottom three.

Battling back to draw on Saturday is a start and allowed them to gain ground on two relegation rivals, as Luton succumbed to a late loss at Tottenham and Everton were beaten by Bournemouth after Seamus Coleman's injury-time own goal.

Eze playing himself into Euros contention?

Palace talisman Eze was named in Gareth Southgate's provisional England squad for the Covid-delayed Euros in 2021, but he ruptured his Achilles tendon the same day he was given the news and was ruled out for 12 months.

Three years on, the midfielder looks to be returning to the kind of form which could see him in contention for the Euros once again.

An injury-disrupted campaign may have contributed to him missing out on Southgate's latest squad, but Eze's talent was on full display here and it was only some superb keeping from Sels which kept him off the score-sheet.

There are nine games left in Palace's campaign, and if the 25-year-old stays fit and continues to spark the Eagles' attack he will give Southgate plenty to ponder.

Player of the match

A WhartonAdam Wharton

with an average of 7.45

Nottingham Forest

  1. Squad number20Player nameReyna

    Average rating

    6.61

  2. Squad number15Player nameToffolo

    Average rating

    6.55

  3. Squad number21Player nameElanga

    Average rating

    6.11

  4. Squad number7Player nameN Williams

    Average rating

    5.90

  5. Squad number11Player nameWood

    Average rating

    5.89

  6. Squad number14Player nameHudson-Odoi

    Average rating

    5.74

  7. Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White

    Average rating

    5.47

  8. Squad number26Player nameSels

    Average rating

    5.45

  9. Squad number40Player nameMurillo

    Average rating

    5.30

  10. Squad number18Player nameFelipe

    Average rating

    5.08

  11. Squad number43Player nameAina

    Average rating

    5.00

  12. Squad number22Player nameYates

    Average rating

    4.87

  13. Squad number27Player nameOrigi

    Average rating

    4.77

  14. Squad number6Player nameSangaré

    Average rating

    4.36

Crystal Palace

  1. Squad number20Player nameA Wharton

    Average rating

    7.45

  2. Squad number10Player nameEze

    Average rating

    7.41

  3. Squad number14Player nameMateta

    Average rating

    6.98

  4. Squad number12Player nameMuñoz

    Average rating

    6.82

  5. Squad number16Player nameAndersen

    Average rating

    6.76

  6. Squad number8Player nameLerma

    Average rating

    6.73

  7. Squad number3Player nameMitchell

    Average rating

    6.73

  8. Squad number26Player nameRichards

    Average rating

    6.61

  9. Squad number9Player nameJ Ayew

    Average rating

    6.48

  10. Squad number30Player nameHenderson

    Average rating

    6.45

  11. Squad number2Player nameWard

    Average rating

    6.44

  12. Squad number15Player nameSchlupp

    Average rating

    5.72

  13. Squad number17Player nameClyne

    Average rating

    5.21

  14. Squad number19Player nameHughes

    Average rating

    5.21

Line-ups

Nottm Forest

Formation 4-2-3-1

26Sels

7N Williams18Felipe40Santiago Costa dos Santos43Aina

22Yates6Sangaré

27Origi10Gibbs-White14Hudson-Odoi

11Wood

  • 26Sels
  • 7N Williams
  • 18FelipeBooked at 49mins
  • 40Santiago Costa dos Santos
  • 43AinaSubstituted forToffoloat 84'minutes
  • 22Yates
  • 6SangaréSubstituted forElangaat 45'minutes
  • 27OrigiSubstituted forReynaat 60'minutes
  • 10Gibbs-White
  • 14Hudson-Odoi
  • 11Wood

Substitutes

  • 1Turner
  • 15Toffolo
  • 16Domínguez
  • 20Reyna
  • 21Elanga
  • 28Danilo
  • 29Montiel
  • 32Omobamidele
  • 37Duarte Ribeiro

Crystal Palace

Formation 3-4-2-1

30Henderson

2Ward16Andersen26Richards

12Muñoz20A Wharton8Lerma3Mitchell

9J Ayew10Eze

14Mateta

  • 30Henderson
  • 2Ward
  • 16Andersen
  • 26Richards
  • 12Muñoz
  • 20A WhartonSubstituted forHughesat 80'minutes
  • 8Lerma
  • 3MitchellSubstituted forClyneat 90+4'minutes
  • 9J AyewSubstituted forSchluppat 66'minutesBooked at 70mins
  • 10Eze
  • 14Mateta

Substitutes

  • 5Tomkins
  • 15Schlupp
  • 17Clyne
  • 19Hughes
  • 29Ahamada
  • 31Matthews
  • 52Ozoh
  • 55Umeh-Chibueze
  • 61Mathurin
Referee: Chris Kavanagh Attendance: 29,520

Match Stats

Live Text

Post update

Match ends, Nottingham Forest 1, Crystal Palace 1.

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