Given the pre-season drama that surrounded these clubs, regarding which European competitions they would compete in this fixture was always likely to have a bit of needle to it.
As it was, the side that took FA Cup winners Palace’s place in the UEFA Europa League almost struck first, but Chris Wood could only volley Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross narrowly wide of the target.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between in the first half, and it took Palace until the half-hour mark to manufacture their first sight of goal, which came when Jean-Philippe Mateta unleashed a rasper from the edge of the area, only for Matz Sels to thwart his thumping drive.
Less than 10 minutes later though, Sels was picking the ball out the back of his own net.
Daniel Munoz was the architect in the build up, clipping an inch-perfect cross onto the right boot of Ismaila Sarr, who made no mistake in steering the ball back where it came from and into the corner.
Forest were under immense pressure towards the end of the opening 45 minutes, and they were fortunate to get into the break just a goal behind, as with the last kick of the first half, Marc Guehi headed Adam Wharton’s teasing free-kick against the outside of the post.
The half-time break didn’t stem Palace’s momentum and they came out firing on all cylinders once again.
Will Hughes missed a good chance to double their advantage shortly after the restart, and his miss looked even more costly a matter of minutes later when Forest finally produced a moment of quality.
Dan Ndoye’s defence-splitting pass from deep inside his own half sent Callum Hudson-Odoi racing clear on goal and he made no mistake in rifling past former Forest stopper Dean Henderson at his near post.
Forest perhaps were the more willing of the two sides in search of a late winner, introducing in the region of £90m of summer recruits off the bench, but Nuno Espírito Santo’s men ultimately came up short in their attempts to start a top-flight season with two wins for the first time since 1987/88 under Brian Clough.
Palace have started their campaign with two draws, and turning those into wins is a clear area of improvement for Oliver Glasner’s men, who’ve now drawn six of their last eight Premier League games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace)
