Nottingham Forest celebrated their survival with one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. With a 1-0 victory over Arsenal the last time out, Steve Cooper’s team finished in 16th place in the Premier League. The Eagles, meanwhile, finished in 11th position, which was their best placement since 2017–18. Although Roy Hodgson’s team controlled the majority of the play, Forest’s defensive tenacity and threat of counterattacks once again paid off.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, Morgan Gibbs-White provided a brilliant assist for Forest’s opening goal by curving a defense-splitting ball for Taiwo Awoniyi to confuse Joachim Andersen and smash past Sam Johnstone. Palace probed and Forest countered as the second half got underway. But Hodgson’s players eventually fashioned a deserving equaliser through the dangerous Michael Olise down the right channel, where Will Hughes was waiting to nod home.
Each team’s important components for success this semester were summed up in the game. The two players that stood out the most for Palace were Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, the latter of whom was making his first appearance after being included in Gareth Southgate’s team for the forthcoming Euro 2024 matches against North Macedonia and Malta. Forest, however, used their deep, counterattack approach, assisting Cooper’s team in earning 11 points from their previous six contests. In the 17th minute, Olise set up Eze from a corner in a sea of open space, but Eze’s shot missed the target.
Long stretches of the game saw the two paired up along the right channel, and around the halfway point, when Eze’s shot struck Jordan Ayew and Will Hughes missed, they almost worked together to end the scoreless tie. Awoniyi, who had been on fire, received a deft ball from Gibbs-White moments later, giving Forest the lead. This made it six goals in as many games for Forest.
After the half, Forest kept up their strategy, but they found it harder and harder to manage Olise and Eze, who became more and more important as the game went on. The visitors were also always at risk from Gibbs-White’s deliveries from dead balls. Palace might have—and arguably ought to have—earned all three points, but Forest center-back Joe Worrall stopped three clear opportunities with a variety of tackles and blocks inside the penalty box. On the hour, though, Hughes scored on his 50th appearance for the team thanks to a deflection from Willy Boly, giving the Eagles their just rewards.
Last summer, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis threw all he had at Forest’s fight for survival, bringing in 26 new hires, including four loan signings. But Steve Cooper, a fan favorite, had a tough job on his shoulders to assemble the team and foster camaraderie among the players from the outset, with Chelsea’s disastrous season following a record-breaking buying spree serving as a shining example of how radical changes may initially have a negative effect on results.
Last summer, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis threw all he had at Forest’s fight for survival, bringing in 26 new hires, including four loan signings. But Steve Cooper, a fan favorite, had a tough job on his shoulders to assemble the team and foster camaraderie among the players from the outset, with Chelsea’s disastrous season following a record-breaking buying spree serving as a shining example of how radical changes may initially have a negative effect on results.
The Crystal Palace team entered the season full of hope. The team was youthful and energetic, Patrick Vieira fared well in his first season in command, and there was optimism that this may be the moment for the Eagles to fly even higher. Nobody would have foreseen Roy Hodgson would turn out to be the player to salvage the club’s season. Vieira’s team made a modest start, winning five Premier League games, but a concerning dip in the first three months of 2023 led to his dismissal and the appointment of the manager he had taken over from just 18 months earlier.
There was an instant change. With a dramatic late strike from Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace defeated Leicester 2-1 in Hodgson’s first game back, winning their first game of the new year and matching their two-month winning streak under Vieira. With some of the greatest young players in the league, the team was always capable of competing in the top division, and they have finally succeeded in doing so.
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