Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest Live Commentary & Result, 28/5/23, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all from this match at Selhurst Park, and from this season in the Premier League!

In the end, this game could have meant more after both teams faced a nervous fight for their Premier League safety this season. Now, however, they can look forward to another top-flight season, though questions will remain over who will lead them next term.

It ends all square at Selhurst Park, as Palace and Forest end the season on a decent note with a 1-1 draw. The hosts dominated for much of the game, only to trail against the run of play after Awoniyi's opener. A Hughes equaliser put them back in the game, but neither could find a winner before the final whistle.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 1-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST

90' + 4' Eze sends the ball in, but he cannot find a Palace head, and the ref blows his whistle for full-time.

90' + 3' Palace are pushing for the winner here. Ayew has won a free kick in the dying moments of this game.

90' + 1' Eze offers up a great strike on the volley which stings the palms of Hennessey, but causes no further trouble.

J. Riedewald

W. Hughes

90' Hughes comes off for Riedewald in another late change.

N. Ahamada

M. Olise

90' Olise leaves the pitch for Palace, and is replaced by Ahamada.

S. Surridge

T. Awoniyi

89' Awoniyi also comes off for Surridge.

A. Ayew

M. Gibbs-White

89' Gibbs-White is off, his assist earlier has crowned an excellent first season at Forest. Ayew is his replacement.

87' A counter-attack for Palace ends with Mateta in a dangerous position, but Worrall throws himself in the way of the strike.

86' If things remain as they are, Forest will have dropped 27 points from winning positions this season, the most of any Premier League side.

83' Gibbs-White whips it in but the ref gives Palace a free kick before anyone can meet the delivery.

82' Johnson does brilliantly to keep the ball in and win a corner off Guehi.

R. Yates

Yellow Card

80' Yates goes into the book for a cynical pull on Eze.

78' Another long throw by Niakhate leads to pinball in the Palace box, but the ball bounces up in the six-yard area for a relieved Johnstone to claim.

76' Penalty shout for Palace, Ayew feeds Mitchell and goes down before he can receive the return. Once again the ref doesn't give anything.

74' Lovely play! Palace break from a Forest corner and Eze sends Mateta through. The substitute crosses in to Olise who nods down towards Eze, but the ball is shepherded back to Hennessey.

E. Dennis

W. Boly

72' Dennis also comes on in an attacking switch by Cooper, with Boly's 100th Premier League appearance coming to an end.

C. Kouyaté

O. Mangala

72' Kouyate is on against his former club. Mangala comes off in the middle of the park for him.

70' There's a break in play as Yates needs treatment.

J. McArthur

C. Doucouré

67' McArthur gets a farewell in front of the home crowd after his departure was announced this week. He's on for Doucoure.

J. Mateta

O. Édouard

67' Mateta is introduced, with Edouard's quiet performance coming to an end.

M. Olise

Assist

66' Olise switched the ball onto his left to swing the ball in, leaving an easy task for the goalscorer who just had to get a slight touch to divert it in.

W. Hughes

Goal

66' EQUALISER! Unsurprisingly the goal comes with a large deal of responsibility from Olise. He crosses beautifully for Hughes, who makes it 1-1 with a glancing header. That's a first league goal for Hughes at Palace.

64' Gibbs-White's corner goes over everyone. Worrall goes down in the box but no penalty is forthcoming.

63' Awoniyi, starved of the ball so far this half, does brilliantly to earn a corner on the right wing.

61' Eze is on the corner this time, but like Olise before him, he fails to find a team-mate.

60' Palace keep flowing forward, this time Boly is in the right place to deny Ayew a clear sight of goal.

58' Good work from a short corner ends with the cross being put in by Doucoure, but Worrall gets in crucially ahead of Edouard.

56' Eze hits the free kick, but his strike balloons over the crossbar.

55' Hughes uses his body well to win a free kick in a great position on the edge of the Forest box.

53' Doucoure slices a volley over the bar from a promising position after Olise's corner.

52' No way through for Edouard on the edge of the box, as he's met by a combination of Worrall and Aurier.

50' Crystal Palace have failed to score a first-half goal in 26 of their 38 games this season, only Everton have a worse record in the Premier League with 27 first-half blanks.

48' Olise fires a curling shot uncharacteristically over the crossbar.

46' Eze gets things back underway at Selhurst Park.

H. Toffolo

Renan Lodi

46' Despite the score it's Forest who make a half-time change. Toffolo comes on for Lodi at left-back.

Possession, 66 per cent of it, hasn't been enough for Palace, so Hodgson will need something to change in the second half. Mateta off the bench could be an attractive option. Whereas for Steve Cooper, more of the same will be the message. Forest have been solid in defence, and Awoniyi looks full of confidence on the break.

A conflicting half for the hosts ends with Palace 1-0 down to Forest, despite being largely the better side besides Awoniyi's goal. Eze had the only real early chance, as he fired wide following Olise's free kick. The new England man came even closer when his close-range effort was stopped from going in by Ayew's legs. Palace were made to pay seconds later when Awoniyi ran through and outsmarted Johnstone to open the scoring. He would have had another but for good work by Johnstone this time, to take the ball off Awoniyi's head a yard out. Palace fought back but Edouard's header wide was never too dangerous, before the hosts ran in one down at the break.

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: CRYSTAL PALACE 0-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST

45' Nice feet from Mangala under pressure win Forest a free kick before we enter stoppage time.

M. Gibbs-White

Yellow Card

43' Gibbs-White brings down Eze on the halfway line, with the Palace man attempting to start a counter. Nothing too dangerous but the ref deems it worthy of the game's first booking.

42' Doucoure is unlucky not to send Edouard in one-on-one with a cute pass through the defensive line.

41' The hosts firmly back on top now, with Forest penned into their half once again.

39' Olise floats a free kick to the back post and Edouard is there, but heads it just wide of the far side. Relief for Forest.

37' Palace simply trying to steady the ship for now.

35' More danger for Palace! Boly does brilliantly to flick on Gibbs-White's corner, but Johnstone intervenes just before Awoniyi can convert at the back post.

33' Awoniyi is now the first player to score in four consecutive Premier League games for Forest since Stan Collymore got six in a row in 1995.

M. Gibbs-White

Assist

31' After a short VAR check, it's confirmed that the scorer was onside from Gibbs-White's ball. That's a victory for the highlights packages as it was a beautiful pass of the outside of the boot.

T. Awoniyi

Goal

31' GOAL! Clinical work against the run of play, Awoniyi has opened the scoring to make it 1-0! Gibbs-White plays it over the top to the Forest striker, Johnstone can't decide whether to stay on his line and Awoniyi capitalises by firing the ball home!

30' How has that stayed out!? A scramble from Olise's cross ends up with Eze, whose shot on the turn from point-blank looks destined for the net, but Ayew gets in the way on the line.

28' Palace try to force the issue but the ball into Edouard is too hot to handle, and Forest break. However, a great challenge from Doucoure stops the threat at source.

25' Forest really dropping off their hosts now, Awoniyi is furthest forward and even he is halfway inside his own half.

23' Hughes does brilliantly to win the ball in midfield, and eventually finds Ayew, but the Ghanaian lashes his effort wide.

21' Olise is really dictating things now, but on this occasion his chipped ball in is too close to Hennessey.

19' Another set-piece by Olise, but his corner is too heavy for Edouard at the far post who fouls his man when challenging for possession.

17' Nearly! Olise rolls the free kick to the edge of the box for Eze, who whips the shot round the onrushing defenders, but just the wrong side of the near post too.

16' Great work by Olise earns the hosts a free kick on the byline just outside the box.

15' Palace trying to get more of the ball now, Andersen and Guehi are just finding their feet.

12' Johnson, donning freshly bleached blond hair, drives down the right, but the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

10' Niakhate takes another long throw which is cleared as far as Aurier, whose driven effort flies well wide.

9' Lodi finds space on the left but his cross is blocked by Ward and Forest have a throw.

7' Forest cause a bit of chaos with a long throw, but Palace defend resolutely. Nobody was up for the clearance though, and Forest will come again.

5' Olise getting into the game now, but after a tricky run his shot is straight at the 'keeper.

4' Penalty shout for Palace as Eze goes down under pressure from Niakhate, but referee Thomas Bramall is having none of it.

3' Forest start by dominating the ball despite their changes.

1' And we're underway.

The players are emerging from the tunnel into the Selhurst Park sunshine.

A win for Palace would guarantee them 11th place in the league - top of the bottom half. That would include an unlikely placement above London rivals Chelsea.

Hodgson names an unchanged side for his probable last match as Palace boss, including Eze in attacking midfield after his midweek England call-up. Zaha is not fit, so misses out on a possible farewell appearance. Forest are forced into three changes from the win over Arsenal. Keylor Navas, Felipe, and Danilo all drop out with injuries, replaced by Hennessey, Boly, and Johnson. Jack Colback, like Zaha, has not reached fitness in time for a probable final game.

SUBS: George Shelvey, Jesse Lingard, Harry Toffolo, Sam Surridge, Alex Mighten, Cheikhou Kouyate, Remo Freuler, Emmanuel Dennis, Andre Ayew.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (3-4-3): Wayne Hennessey; Moussa Niakhate, Joe Worrall, Willy Boly; Serge Aurier, Orel Mangala, Ryan Yates, Renan Lodi; Brennan Johnson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Morgan Gibbs-White.

SUBS: Joe Whitworth, Albert Sambi-Lokonga, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Nathaniel Clyne, James McArthur, Chris Richards, Naouirou Ahamada, Tayo Adaramola, Jairo Riedewald.

CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Sam Johnstone; Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Tyrick Mithell; Will Hughes, Cheick Doucoure; Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze, Jordan Ayew; Odsonne Edouard.

With both teams successfully steering themselves away from the relegation zone before the final matchday, they will be able to play freely in the knowledge that they will be in the big time again next season. Palace will be looking to make amends after a Wilfried Zaha penalty miss at the City Ground contributed to a 1-0 win for the hosts in the reverse fixture, and will also be looking to send off manager Roy Hodgson with a win from his last game managing his boyhood club. On the other side Forest can reach the fabled 40 points mark with a win today, which would constitute a hugely successful return to the top-flight.

Hello and welcome to this live text commentary of the Premier League final day clash between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest Live Commentary, 28/5/23

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