Nottingham Forest’s Champions League aspirations took a serious blow on Monday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, missing a golden opportunity to keep pace with the Premier League‘s top five.
Despite spending much of the season in the top three, Forest’s recent dip in form—just one win in their last four league outings—has seen them slip to sixth in the table. A victory would have drawn them level on points with Chelsea and Newcastle, but they now face an uphill battle to break back into the Champions League spots.
The match itself was a disjointed and physical affair, with eight players booked in total. Neither side ever truly found rhythm, though Palace were marginally more dangerous in the attacking third.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark when Tyrick Mitchell was brought down in the box by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, a foul confirmed after VAR intervention. Eberechi Eze calmly slotted home the resulting penalty to give Palace the lead.
Forest, however, responded quickly. Just four minutes later, Murillo deflected a powerful effort from Neco Williams past Palace’s keeper, restoring parity and breathing life back into the visitors.
Late drama nearly tilted the balance either way—Eze rattled the crossbar in the dying moments, and Eddie Nketiah thought he had snatched a winner in stoppage time, only for his finish to be ruled out for offside.
The result extends Crystal Palace’s winless run to five league games but offers positives in terms of performance. Forest, meanwhile, leave South London knowing they missed a critical chance to keep their Champions League dream alive.
