Nottingham Forest 1-1 Crystal Palace: Williams Red Card Sparks Sarr Penalty Save And Forest Hold On

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Nottingham Forest held on with ten players to claim a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, a result that moved Forest six points clear of the Premier League relegation places but kept both clubs looking over their shoulders after another match where neither side fully took control.

The point left Forest in 17th place, still three points behind Palace, whose winless league run stretched to nine games. A victory would have pushed Forest eight points clear of West Ham, yet the match instead underlined the anxieties surrounding both teams in the lower half of the table.

Forest struck first after just five minutes, when Morgan Gibbs-White finished calmly past Dean Henderson following a long throw that Palace failed to clear properly. The visitors responded with pressure, as Daniel Munoz headed over and Ismaila Sarr fired above the bar from the edge of the penalty area.

The contest changed dramatically on the stroke of half-time. Jefferson Lerma met a cross with a firm header that beat goalkeeper Matz Sels, only for Neco Williams to block on the line with a hand. Williams received a red card, and in the second minute of first-half stoppage time Sarr converted the penalty down the centre.

Playing against ten players after the break, Palace saw more of the ball but lacked precision. Will Hughes sent a rising effort over from the edge of the area, while substitute Brennan Johnson wasted a clear chance at the other end, glancing a free header wide without testing replacement goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

Forest still threatened a late winner despite the numerical disadvantage. Dan Ndoye created space in the closing stages but dragged a low effort wide of the far post. That miss summed up a contest short on attacking quality, where both sides failed to build sustained momentum after promising spells.

Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace draw: statistics highlight Palace struggles

Palace’s nine-game winless sequence in the Premier League, with three draws and six defeats, is their poorest run under Oliver Glasner. Only Burnley, who are without a victory in 14 league matches, currently endure a longer drought, adding further pressure on Palace’s attempts to pull clear of danger.

Possession and territory did not bring control for Palace. During the second half, Palace had 74% of the ball against ten-player Forest yet recorded only four shots to Forest’s seven and produced fewer touches inside the opposition box, with seven compared to nine for the home side.

The expected goals figures showed Palace ahead at 1.92 against Forest’s 0.49, but that gap was heavily influenced by Sarr’s penalty. The match also featured very few accurate finishes, as Sarr’s equaliser was the final shot on target, and Gibbs-White’s opener remained Forest’s only effort on Henderson’s goal.