How Crystal Palace beat Nottingham Forest
Forest scored with almost their first attack. In the third minute Dan Ndoye hit a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner, after a misjudged header by Anan Khalaili, according to GOAL. For most of the first half the visitors had the ball and the chances, and Palace's goalkeeper Walter Benítez kept the score at 1-0.
Palace drew level in the 41st minute. Quinten Timber set up Daichi Kamada, who finished left-footed from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner. Sky Sports reported that it was Kamada's first Premier League goal and that it stood after a VAR check.
The second came in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time. Adam Wharton crossed from a corner and Jefferson Lerma, already booked in the 16th minute, headed in from very close range; Sky Sports reported that the ball went through the legs of Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels. Palace went in 2-1 up.
In the 59th minute Yéremy Pino made it 3-1 with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner, ending a run of 19 Premier League appearances without a goal, according to Sky Sports. A minute later he was booked for his celebration.
- 3': Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest), 0-1
- 41': Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), assisted by Quinten Timber, 1-1
- 45'+4': Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace), header, assisted by Adam Wharton from a corner, 2-1
- 59': Yéremy Pino (Crystal Palace), 3-1
Turning points
The first was Benítez's spell in the first half. Sky Sports listed saves from Liam Delap, Morgan Gibbs-White and, later, Chris Wood, and Gibbs-White also hit the crossbar. Pierre Sage, Palace's head coach since the summer, said afterward on the club's website that his side had been poor for a spell after the opening goal, and credited his goalkeeper with keeping them in the match.
After that, we had 20 minutes we were bad and Walter made saves with a lot of bravery.
Pierre Sage, Crystal Palace head coach, cpfc.co.uk
The second was the timing of Palace's goals. Two in the last minutes of the first half, the second from a set piece, turned a match Forest had controlled. Glasner chased the game with a triple change in the 72nd minute, sending on Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood for Ndoye and Delap, after Ibrahim Sangaré had replaced Xaver Schlager in the 66th. Arnaud Kalimuendo came on for Ola Aina, booked in the 73rd minute, at 83 minutes. Palace replaced Lerma with Honest Ahanor at the same moment as Forest's triple change, and Ismaïla Sarr, Eddie Nketiah and Dwight McNeil came on late. There were no red cards; Murillo was booked in stoppage time.
Sky Sports reported that Glasner, who won the FA Cup with Palace, was applauded by the home fans before kick-off, and that he called it Forest's best performance of the season, undone by the chances they did not take. Sage, for his part, compared the display with his side's earlier one at Leeds.
But at the end, today we were less good as we were in Leeds, but we won
Pierre Sage, Crystal Palace head coach, cpfc.co.uk
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest: key stats
The numbers bear out both managers. Forest had 56.6 percent of the ball, 24 shots to 13 and eight corners to five, but Palace put seven of their 13 shots on target and Forest six of 24. Eight of Forest's shots were blocked, and Palace made 34 clearances to Forest's 18.
| Crystal Palace | Nottingham Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 43.4% | 56.6% |
| Shots | 13 | 24 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 6 |
| Blocked shots | 2 | 8 |
| Corners | 5 | 8 |
| Crosses | 15 | 29 |
| Passes (completed) | 385 (75%) | 492 (82%) |
| Clearances | 34 | 18 |
| Fouls | 11 | 10 |
| Offsides | 2 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 4 | 4 |
What it means for both clubs
Palace started the matchweek 15th with four points and finish it 12th with seven, two wins, a draw and three defeats. It was Sage's first home Premier League win as Palace manager, the club noted. They are four points above Tottenham Hotspur, 18th and in the first relegation place, and three behind Brentford in fourth.
Forest drop from 13th to 14th, still on five points with one win from six. They are one point behind Manchester United and two above the bottom three. Matchweek 6 is not finished: Coventry City, 19th with three points, play Newcastle United on 12 October, and a Coventry win would take them to six points, above Forest. Palace's position does not depend on that result. The current standings are in our Premier League table, and the Premier League simulator lets you play out the rest of the season.
Both clubs changed managers over the summer, part of a record turnover of nine Premier League clubs that we covered in our study of Premier League manager sackings. How many points it usually takes to stay up is in our count of the relegation line.
What's next
- Crystal Palace: away to Brighton & Hove Albion, third in the table, Sunday 18 October 2026, 14:00 BST.
- Nottingham Forest: at home to Arsenal, second, Sunday 18 October 2026, 16:30 BST.
All of matchweek 7 is on the Premier League fixtures page, with kickoff times.
How this report was built: the score, goals, assists, cards, substitutions, lineups and match statistics come from ESPN's match data (event 401879266), and every goal and card is credited to the team ESPN records for it. The table before and after matchweek 6 is computed from ESPN's full-time results, three points for a win, with Coventry City v Newcastle United still to play. Context and quotes come from Sky Sports, Crystal Palace's official website, ESPN and GOAL, read on 12 October 2026.