A fast start from both sides saw Jefferson Lerma extend Matz Sels within two minutes, before Forest quickly had a penalty appeal waved away, and then Morgan Gibbs-White lit the blue touch paper by side-footing in the opener with only six minutes gone.
It was his 23rd league goal in Forest colours, taking him one ahead of Stan Collymore, and putting him just one behind Bryan Roy in 2nd place on that particular list.
Elliot Anderson’s industry in midfield was more noticeable as the game progressed - with 13 completed passes from as many attempted in the opening half hour - though Palace’s Will Hughes and Daniel Munoz kept things feisty and competitive.
But right before half-time, a towering header from Lerma was handled on the line by Forest’s Neco Williams, earning him a straight red card.
From the resulting penalty, Sarr sent Sels the wrong way to equalise.
Hughes’ wild swing when in acres of space was a waste of a decent early second-half chance for the Eagles, who kept on the front foot against the 10 men.
In a rare foray, a rising left-foot drive from Forest’s Igor Jesus sailed just over, before ex-Forest man Brennan Johnson flashed a header just wide as Palace pushed again.
The game got more and more stretched as time went on, and despite an end-to-end battle until the dying minutes, neither side could find a winner.
The result means Palace have stopped a run of five successive away losses across all competitions, though they’ve still failed to beat Forest in a Premier League meeting (D8, L4) - the most times they’ve ever faced an opponent without winning against them in the competition since its inception in 1992.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
