Callum Hudson-Odoi cancelled out Ismaila Sarr’s opener as Nottingham Forest earned a 1-1 draw with Crsytal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Sarr opened the scoring for the hosts in the 37th minute when he tapped in Daniel Munoz’s cross at the near post, with Marc Guehi hitting the post shortly after as the Eagles went close to doubling their lead.
But Forest drew level with a trademark counter-attack as Dan Ndoye sent Callum Hudson-Odoi clear of the Palace defence with a wonderful pass before the winger calmly found the net.
A balanced encounter saw both sides push for a winner but neither could find that all-important winner in what was Palace’s first game without Ebere Eze, who joined Arsenal on Saturday.
His replacement in the XI, Justin Devenney failed to inspire the Eagles in the same way, nor could replacement Romain Esse who will be hoping to play more of a regular role after Eze’s departure.
Forest also introduced new signings James McAtee and Omari Hutchinson in the second half but despite some livelty moments, they were also unable to help the visitors find the winner.
Substitute Igor Jesus thought he had snatched a winner for the Tricky Trees in added time but his left-footed strike cannoned off the post.
Sunday’s game at Selhurst Park had an added layer of spice to it after FA Cup winners Palace lost their place in the Europa League after breaking UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, with Nottingham Forest taking their place.
The demotion came about after Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis reportedly complained to UEFA about Palace’s offence, leaving there to be some bad blood between the two clubs and chants against the Greek and European football’s governing body heard throughout the game.
A banner was unveiled by Eagles fans at Selhurst Park depicting Marinakis holding a gun to Morgan Gibbs-White’s head after the England mideidler signed a new contract with the club over the summer.
The banner had a speech bubble coming from Gibbs-White saying “Mr Marinakis is not involved in blackmail, match fixing, drug trafficking or corruption”.
Nuno: I want to stay as Forest boss
Forest went into the game with plenty of speculation over their manager’s future, after a stunning press conference where Nuno labelled his relationship with owner Marinakis as “not the same” and “it is not so good as it was [last season]”, before adding “where there’s smoke, there’s also fire” following rumours he would depart.
Asked on Sky Sports his pre-match interview at Selhurst Park over whether he was trying to engineer an exit from Forest, he replied: “That’s nonsense, that doesn’t make any kind of sense.
“The state is that we are focused on the game, that’s more important.”
Questioned if he wants to continue as Forest head coach, he said: “Of course! Of course!”
On whether he would have face-to-face talks with club bosses, he responded: “Yes. That’s what we need to do, and we’re going to do it.
“Not today, of course, because it’s the match, but soon, of course.
The Portuguese added: “There’s no speculation around anything. What we have is to communicate – how we’re going to approach the final days of the market, how we’re going to approach the new season, how we’re going to prepare our boys.”
