Crystal Palace recovered from conceding inside three minutes to defeat Nottingham Forest 3-1 at Selhurst Park, transforming a difficult opening into a convincing Premier League result. Goals from Daichi Kamada, Jefferson Lerma and Yeremy Pino overturned Dan Ndoye’s early strike and ensured that Oliver Glasner’s return to his former club ended in disappointment.
The match took place on Sunday, 11 October 2026, with kick-off at 2pm British Summer Time. Although the fixture generated the usual interest in predictions, team selections and live coverage, the completed contest supplied a clearer story: Forest started strongly, Palace survived, and the hosts converted the opportunities that changed the game.
For supporters catching up afterwards, the essential score update is final: Crystal Palace 3, Nottingham Forest 1. The result was shaped by Palace’s recovery rather than a straightforward afternoon of home dominance.
Ndoye Gives Forest an Immediate Advantage
Forest made the start every visiting team wants, with Ndoye opening the scoring in the third minute. His goal put Crystal Palace under immediate pressure and gave the visitors an early opportunity to establish control.
Conceding so soon changes the demands on a home side. Palace needed to respond without allowing urgency to turn into poor decisions, while Forest could consider how best to exploit the spaces created by opponents chasing the game.
An early lead also places responsibility on the team holding it. The advantage must be supported by further effective attacking play or sufficient defensive organisation to prevent a response.
Forest had supplied the first decisive moment, but the match remained almost entirely ahead of them. Their inability to turn that promising position into a more secure advantage would become central to the afternoon.
For Palace, the opening setback became a test of their capacity to remain competitive while working towards an answer.
Benítez Keeps Palace Within Reach
Walter Benítez played an important role in preventing Forest’s early advantage from becoming more damaging. His saves helped Palace remain close enough to change the direction of the contest.
That contribution deserves attention alongside the goals scored at the other end. A comeback often depends on defensive actions completed before the attacking response arrives.
Had Forest increased their lead, Palace would have faced a substantially harder assignment. Instead, the hosts continued with a recoverable deficit and enough time to find their attacking rhythm.
Goalkeeping can influence the emotional balance of a match as well as its score. A successful intervention prevents an immediate setback and allows teammates another opportunity to reset.
Benítez’s work did not by itself guarantee Palace’s recovery. It preserved the possibility. The players ahead of him still needed to create and finish the attacks that would eventually reward those interventions.
Kamada Supplies the Equaliser
Kamada brought Palace level in the 41st minute, completing the first stage of their recovery shortly before half-time.
The timing was significant. Forest had held their advantage for most of the opening period, but Palace now approached the interval with the score restored rather than a deficit to discuss.
An equaliser late in a half can alter the decisions facing both teams. The side that has recovered may sense an opportunity to push again, while the team that has conceded must regain its organisation quickly.
For Palace, Kamada’s goal converted their persistence into something measurable. They had survived Forest’s strong opening and now had an attacking reward of their own.
For the visitors, the concession meant their early work had not produced a lasting advantage. They still had a level contest available, but the next minutes required a response that would prevent Palace from building further momentum.
Lerma Turns the Match Before the Break
Palace did not wait until the second half to move ahead. Lerma scored in first-half stoppage time, giving the hosts a 2-1 interval lead.
The sequence of goals transformed the match within a short period. Forest went from protecting a narrow advantage to facing a deficit, while Palace entered the dressing room having completed a substantial recovery.
Lerma’s intervention also changed the practical demands of the second half. Palace could now choose how to balance attacking ambition with protecting their position. Forest needed to find another goal while remaining alert to the danger of conceding again.
That was a very different situation from the one established by Ndoye’s early finish.
The first half therefore illustrated the limits of judging a contest by its opening exchanges. Forest’s start mattered, but Palace’s ability to remain within reach gave them the platform to overturn it before the interval.
Pino Gives the Hosts Breathing Space
Pino added Palace’s third goal in the 59th minute, extending the lead and making Forest’s route back considerably more difficult.
At 2-1, a single successful attack could have restored parity. At 3-1, the visitors needed two goals merely to recover a point, while Palace had earned some protection against an isolated concession.
The goal did not remove every remaining responsibility from the hosts. Concentration, sensible possession and defensive support were still required.
Nevertheless, it provided a valuable cushion and confirmed that Palace’s attacking response had continued beyond their strong finish to the first half.
For Forest, the third concession sharpened the consequences of the opportunities they had not converted earlier. Their opening goal had offered an excellent starting position, but Palace had subsequently completed three attacks successfully.
The hosts preserved that advantage through the remaining minutes to secure the victory.
Confirmed Starting Lineups
Palace started with Walter Benítez, Jefferson Lerma, Chris Richards, Jaydee Canvot, Anan Khalaili, Adam Wharton, Quinten Timber, Tyrick Mitchell, Daichi Kamada, Yeremy Pino and Jørgen Strand Larsen.
Forest’s starting eleven comprised Matz Sels, Ola Aina, Ousmane Diomande, Murillo, Daniel Muñoz, Xaver Schlager, James McAtee, Neco Williams, Morgan Gibbs-White, Dan Ndoye and Liam Delap.
Those were the confirmed selections for the match, rather than predicted teams assembled beforehand. That distinction is important when reviewing fixture coverage, since an anticipated lineup can differ from the players eventually chosen.
Palace’s starting side contained all three of their goalscorers, while Ndoye supplied Forest’s only accepted goal. Benítez’s contribution also demonstrated why evaluating a lineup requires more than identifying the players who appear on the scoresheet.
Glasner’s Return Adds Context
Glasner’s presence in the away dugout gave the fixture an additional storyline. Returning to a former club naturally draws attention to past achievements and familiar surroundings, but those connections do not determine the football.
Forest’s early advantage suggested that his team could make the occasion uncomfortable for Palace. The hosts’ response ensured that the final result developed differently.
It would be speculative to claim that the circumstances of the return caused particular tactical decisions or affected individual players’ concentration. The confirmed events offer enough explanation without requiring assumptions about private thoughts.
Forest scored first, Palace recovered before half-time, and the home side extended their lead afterwards.
The managerial reunion added interest around the match. Its outcome was decided by the goals, saves and opportunities taken or missed during the contest itself.
Predictions Must Remain Separate From Results
Before kick-off, a forecast could reasonably have considered home advantage, attacking options and each team’s ability to manage transitions. Any predicted score would still have been an opinion.
The completed 3-1 result should not be presented as something that was inevitable. Forest led early and created difficulties that Palace needed to survive.
Equally, the score alone does not prove that every pre-match concern about either team was justified. Predictions simplify a contest that can change through a goalkeeper’s intervention, a finishing error or a goal near the interval.
The more useful post-match assessment examines how Palace recovered and why Forest could not preserve their favourable position.
Future expectations should remain conditional. Palace demonstrated an effective response on this occasion, but another opponent may present different demands. Forest’s defeat identified problems within this match without establishing what must happen next.
Watching the Match and Following Updates
Because this fixture has finished, supporters looking for coverage are seeking highlights, a replay or archived commentary rather than a live broadcast.
Availability depends on location and the rights attached to each service. A television subscription in one country does not automatically provide access elsewhere, and full-match replays may have different availability from short highlights.
Supporters should check the authorised broadcaster serving their territory and the clubs’ official video offerings for the completed fixture.
Archived score pages also require care. Some preserve earlier match states or pre-match wording even after full-time. The final result was 3-1, with Palace leading 2-1 at the interval.
For understanding the contest, extended highlights or a replay offer more context than a score notification alone, particularly regarding Forest’s early threat and Benítez’s role in keeping Palace competitive.
Palace’s Recovery Defines the Afternoon
Palace’s victory combined an attacking response with the defensive work that made it possible. Kamada restored parity, Lerma established the lead and Pino strengthened it, but the recovery also depended on preventing Forest from making more of their opening spell.
Forest left with a clear frustration: their early advantage did not become a platform for points.
The result offered Palace encouragement while leaving both teams with matters to review. For the hosts, the challenge was to reproduce their effective response more consistently. For the visitors, it was to connect promising attacking periods with greater efficiency and stronger protection of a lead.
At Selhurst Park, Palace completed that balance more successfully when the decisive moments arrived.
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