Despite a truly abysmal first half performance, Crystal Palace came away from Selhurst Park and Oliver Glasner’s return with a huge 3-1 win, as Pierre Sage earned his first Premier League points at Selhurst Park. 

Dan Ndoye put the visitors ahead and it looked as if the result was only going one way as Forest missed chance after chance. However, two late first half goals saw the scoreline flip, Palace leading at halftime courtesy of strikes from Daichi Kamada and Jefferson Lerma. 

Forest started the second period well, but it was Palace who found the fourth and final goal of the game, Yéremy Pino stabbing home after Matz Sels saved well to deny Jørgen Strand Larsen. 

The win is Pierre Sage’s first in the Premier League at Selhurst Park, and only the side’s second in the league this season. 

But how did each player fare on a truly bizarre afternoon in South London? Almost every single outfielder was far below par in that mad 30 minute spell, but overall their performances improved drastically. 

Wow. Truly a fantastic performance from the Palace ‘keeper. Four crucial saves, three made at 1-0 down which would surely have put the game to bed had they been converted. Provided the perfect springboard for Palace to get back into the game, and then makes another excellent stop to deny Chris Wood from five yards out with ten minutes to go at 3-1. 

Not only did he make good saves, he made them at great times and if it wasn’t for him, Palace would have been dead and buried. Man of the match performance. 

A catastrophic error from Khalaili led to the opening goal for Forest, the Israeli heading the ball straight through to Ndoye. He struggled throughout the first half, but grew into the game as it progressed, providing some great crosses which almost created goals.

Defensively he did seem vulnerable, but he seemed to learn how to match Ndoye as the second half continued, and he prevented the Swiss winger from creating anything dangerous for Forest. 

One of the most bizarre performances from an individual in a long time. Defensively, Lerma was appalling, and Dan Ndoye got the better of him almost every time he went forward. However, his contributions and presence in the Forest box from set pieces made the difference and earned Palace the second goal. 

He came close to scoring twice more, but similarly Forest came close to scoring on numerous occasions when Ndoye beat him one on one, so a very mixed performance for the Colombian. Replaced by Honest Ahanor on 72 minutes. 

A very busy afternoon for Canvot, who was actually very solid defensively, as Forest favoured targeting the opposite side and Jefferson Lerma. Despite this, Canvot put in a strong display, winning four of five aerial duels, and making a whopping ten defensive contributions, including five clearances. 

He was also very effective in possession, completing a very strong 100% of his long passes, and moving the ball well, especially when his teammates were consistently misplacing the ball too. 

Definitely struggled at times, misread the bounce on multiple occasions and was out of position too, but simultaneously Richards defended really well, effectively bullying Liam Delap in the second half. 

The strikers were left open in the box far too often though, and that has to impact his rating. Aerially, he was dominant, winning 5 of 6 duels, making five clearances and three blocks too. All action, which highlighted his flaws at times, but he did also defend well for large parts. 

The battle between Mitchell and Muñoz was one that was highlighted before the game, and it was a key part of the game. Forest tended to attack down the Palace right, but on the occasions where they opted to direct their play towards Mitchell, the Palace left back defended well. 

He was often left marking two men at once as Yéremy Pino failed to get back in and support his teammate. Mitchell won a mammoth 100% of his eight ground duels and wasn’t dribbled past once. He also came incredibly close to what would have been an absolute worldie when he volleyed from distance. That strike drew the corner that Palace went ahead from though, so credit is deserved there. 

His first half display was possibly the worst he’s played in a Palace shirt in some time. Misplaced passes galore, continuous errors and poor defending made it far too easy for Forest to attack in transition. Similarly to a number of his teammates, his performance improved hugely in the second half. 

More control, much more confidence on the ball and some brilliant deliveries from set pieces, one of which earned him an assist for Lerma’s goal. He was one of the most important players for Palace in the second half, controlling the game and tempo of the play, which frustrated Forest and drew fouls from Glasner’s players. 

Had he been more consistent in the first half, he’d be pushing an eight, but that spell was appalling by his own standards. 

Another all-action Timber performance, involved in 14 ground duels, of which he won 50%. His energy kept Palace in the game at times in the first half, and he played a vital role in the equaliser, drawing a defender away before poking the ball through to Kamada, assisting the goal which kick-started Palace’s comeback. 

His importance in this side cannot be understated and as fans of Palace are reminded by this every time he plays. 

A relatively absent performance from Kamada in the first half, as Palace continuously failed to get out of their own half. His goal was the first time he was really involved at all in the first half, and he took the finish really well, especially with Sels closing him down so quickly. 

What stood out in the second half was how well he moved the ball, with pace and precision, the confidence clearly building with each passing minute. Kamada is a great player to have when defending a lead, and won multiple free kicks in good areas to alleviate pressure too. 

A really tidy performance from Pino, despite it feeling as though he lost the ball many times in the first half. He was at the heart of almost everything positive that Palace did, and took his goal really well as the ball rebounded out to him. 

He did leave Mitchell somewhat isolated at times, but it’s clearly a decision from the management, as leaving Pino forward offers a strong outlet, where his linkup play with Strand Larsen plays a key role in Palace’s attacking success. 

Both Strand Larsen for Palace and Liam Delap for Forest struggled in this game, with neither striker 

showing much conviction in front of goal whatsoever. 

Strand Larsen should have scored in the first half, which would have put his side in front before the brief collapse which followed. He also missed chances in the second half, and was fortunate that Pino was on hand to score the rebound from his effort which was saved easily by Sels, despite it being a great chance to score. 

His hold up play was also weak, and whilst he did win a number of fouls, he was not consistent enough for Palace. 

A really strong cameo from Ahanor, who stepped into Lerma’s place with confidence. He only had to make four contributions in the game, but cleared the ball well on every occasion, defending the box really well.