Crystal Palace produced a ruthless second-half display to defeat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Selhurst Park, recovering from an early setback to secure their first home Premier League win of the campaign.
Forest struck inside three minutes when Dan Ndoye capitalised on a loose Palace header and finished beyond Walter Benítez. The visitors continued to threaten, but Benítez kept the Eagles in contention with a series of important interventions, including a remarkable stop to deny Liam Delap from close range after Morgan Gibbs-White’s effort had come back off the crossbar.
Palace’s response arrived before the interval. Daichi Kamada finished a flowing passing move by lifting the ball over Matz Sels, restoring parity and giving the hosts fresh momentum. The turnaround was completed shortly afterwards when Jefferson Lerma’s header was deflected into the net off Anan Khalaili.
Forest remained dangerous after the restart, with Benítez again called upon to repel their attacks. Palace, however, showed greater efficiency in the decisive moments. Yéremy Pino followed up after Sels had stopped Jørgen Strand Larsen’s initial effort, steering the rebound beyond the covering defender to put the Eagles two goals clear.
Benítez made another key save from Delap later in the contest, allowing Palace to manage the closing stages with increasing comfort. The victory lifted the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League table and provided a strong return to Selhurst Park after the international break.
