A dour draw was the consolation prize for Roy Hodgson on his 400th game as a Premier League manager, although considering the mounting scale of Crystal Palace’s injury crisis, a point against Nottingham Forest will have been tinged with relief too. The 76-year-old already had a threadbare squad at his disposal before Jeffrey Schlupp and Jairo Riedewald hobbled down the tunnel at Selhurst Park and Forest were left ruing not taking greater advantage. The promising Brazilian centre back Murillo was in fact their best attacking outlet, but a combination of the post and Sam Johnstone ensured the game remained goalless and allowed Palace to limp into the international break.
“I think losing Jeff Schlupp so early on in an already wounded midfield, that was a blow we had to overcome, but personally I’m satisfied with a point,” Hodgson said. “I thought the team was very resilient. Those are the sort of games that are very easy to lose.”
Eberechi Eze’s injury punctured the mood after Palace’s victory over Manchester United last week and Hodgson had needed an A4 piece of paper on Friday just to remind him of all the names currently sidelined. In that light, it was little surprise they lacked creativity and impetus in midfield, with Hodgson miffed at Cheick Doucouré’s absence with “fatigue”, but Taiwo Awoniyi’s groin injury was felt dearly by Forest too.
“If anyone deserved to win it was us,” Steve Cooper, the Forest head coach, said. “There’s a little feeling of disappointment in the dressing room for sure, but also knowing performances and results like this were so hard to come by last season, [with] the fact we played like that tonight, we see a team on an upward trajectory.”
The early excitement had been restricted to a driven Harry Toffolo shot from distance until Murillo, who was making only his second appearance since joining from Corinthians, almost doused a damp squib in petrol when he arrowed a long-range pass that covered nearly the length of the pitch to Morgan Gibbs-White, who guided a deft first-time volley past Johnstone, only to be denied by the post.
If Hodgson were already concerned, his mood would have darkened significantly when Schlupp hobbled off with an injury before the half-hour mark, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi was an encouraging replacement and repeatedly troubled Toffolo down the right wing.
The maziest run still belonged to Murillo, though, who, to the fans’ collective disbelief, picked up the ball near the halfway line and jinked past three Palace players before forcing Johnstone to parry the ball away.
The Brazilian had punctuated an otherwise tepid half and the tempo remained muted after the break. Palace had a valid excuse, and the lack of an immediate remedy for the long-term absences of Eze and Michael Olisé could lead to more gruelling spectacles, but Callum Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White struggled to stamp any lasting authority on the game. When a gilt-edged chance did finally fall Palace’s way, Jean-Philippe Mateta was struck with such surprise that he slipped and skewed his shot wide.
The promise briefly galvanised Palace and Jordan Ayew threatened with a glancing header at the near-post before fate inevitably intervened and claimed Riedewald as the next victim of injury. Forest almost took advantage when Gonzalo Montiel met Toffolo’s cross with a brilliant scissor-kick volley, but Joachim Andersen made a vital block and, although Cooper’s side did bear a greater threat as the clock ran down, with Nicolas Dominguez forcing Johnstone into another fingertip save, such incision arrived too late to put a wounded Palace to the sword.
Star man Sam Johnstone (Palace).
Crystal Palace (4-4-2-): S Johnstone 7 — N Clyne 6, J Andersen 7, M Guéhi 6, T Mitchell 7 — J Ayew 6, J Riedewald 6 (C Richards 75min), W Hughes 6, J Schlupp 6 (J Rak-Sakyi 26, 7)— O Édouard 6, J-P Mateta 5.
Nottingham Forest (4-3-3): M Turner 6 — S Aurier 6 (G Montiel 46, 6), W Boly 7, Murillo 7, H Toffolo 6 — I Sangaré 6 (R Yates 76), O Mangala 6 (C Kouyaté 83), N Domínguez 6 — M Gibbs-White 6, C Wood 6 (D Origi 76), C Hudson-Odoi 5 (A Elanga 6, 66). Booked R Yates.
Referee C Pawson.
