Oliver Glasner’s first visit back to Selhurst Park since leaving in the summer ended in a 3-1 Premier League defeat as Nottingham Forest surrendered an early lead and let Crystal Palace take control before half time.
Dan Ndoye had put the visitors in front early on and Forest were the better side for much of the opening period. But goals from Daichi Kamada and Jefferson Lerma in the closing stages of the first half swung the contest, and Yeremy Pino struck again shortly before the hour mark to complete the turnaround.
The result made for an unhappy reunion for Glasner, who left Palace in the summer after delivering the club’s first major trophies: the FA Cup in 2025 and the Conference League a year later.
Palace climb above Forest into 12th place, while the visitors slip to 14th having won only one of their opening six league fixtures this term.
For roughly the first 40 minutes, it looked as though Glasner would enjoy a warm homecoming. Ndoye latched onto an early error from Anan Khalaili and bent a fine finish beyond Walter Benitez.
From there, Forest poured forward. Liam Delap should have doubled the advantage when he blasted a close range volley straight at Benitez with the goal at his mercy, after Morgan Gibbs-White’s strike had come back off the bar. Delap wasted another inviting opportunity moments later, directing a back post header the wrong side of the upright.
Those misses, as so often happens, proved decisive. Five minutes before the interval Kamada prodded the ball home to level against the run of play. Then, after Matz Sels produced a fine stop to keep out a fierce Tyrick Mitchell drive, Adam Wharton’s corner from the resulting set piece was bundled in by Lerma, giving the hosts both momentum and the lead going into the break.
Palace’s comeback was made sweeter still after the restart, with Pino increasing the advantage on 59 minutes by rifling home after Jorgen Strand Larsen’s attempt had initially been saved by Sels.
The roles were reversed soon afterwards. Wharton’s raking pass picked out the head of Pino, and the Spaniard nodded across for Strand Larsen, only for the striker to be denied by Sels once more.
At the other end Benitez was called into action again, saving from point blank range, this time from substitute Chris Wood.
That proved to be the final meaningful moment of a contest in which the momentum swung wildly, and it was the hosts who emerged with a vital three points.
Forest are left with just one league win from six outings and Glasner’s return to south London will not be one he looks back on with any fondness, while Palace can take satisfaction from a comeback that lifted them above their visitors in the table.
