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Our Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest player ratings look at how the clash between the Eagles and Forest went down in their 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, in what might be the most boring match of the entire Premier League weekend.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest timeline
Contents
20′ – Forest have a penalty shout denied after wanting Mitchell’s apparent handball penalized.
21′ – Gibbs-White hits the post after trying to chip one over Johnstone.
26′ – Schlupp has to be taken off after picking up an injury.
33′ – Ayew wastes a big chance, blaring a shot into the rafters from close range.
45+2′ – Murillo dances his way into the box, but his shot is saved.
61′ – Boly’s header from a corner goes over.
63′ – Mateta puts his shot wide from close range.
73′ – Long-range effort from Ayew is saved.
77′ – A long-range attempt from Montiel is deflected over the bar.
90+3′ – Elanga misscontrols the ball in the box and allows Johnstone to clear it away from close range.
The Big Stat
Sam Johnstone frustrated the visitors by making five saves in the game to keep a clean sheet. In doing so, Crystal Palace have now kept three successive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since April 2022.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest player ratings – Star Man
Sam Johnstone – 8.5/10
In a game with zero goals, it isn’t exactly surprising that a goalkeeper is the star man. However, Sam Johnstone keeps growing his stock to be Crystal Palace’s long-term no.1 goalkeeper by producing another impressive effort.
Extremely sharp and reactive in his goal line, Johnstone was making a ton of crucial saves and showcased brilliant reflexes to deny some of Forest’s unpredictable attempts.
He was also impressive with collecting crosses, regaining possession and moving the ball forward nicely without problem. In doing so, Johnstone got his third successive clean sheet in the Premier League to move higher in the Golden Glove race.

Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest player ratings: Wasteful Palace grind out another clean sheet
Crystal Palace came into the game with quite a few injury issues, with many key players injured. They were able to create a few major chances, which were all wasted. Roy Hodgson will probably be pleased with his side’s defensive showing and their ability to get another clean sheet.
Crystal Palace
Sam Johnstone 8.5/10 – Sharp in his goal, making four reflex saves to frustrate the visitors.
Nathaniel Clyne 6.5/10 – Kept both Hudson-Odoi and Elanga quiet, but lacked any creative threat.
Joachim Andersen 7.5/10 – Composed and reliable at the back, winning many key duels and restricting Forest’s attacking flow.
Marc Guehi 8/10 – Commanded over a sturdy backline and read the game impressively to come up with many decisive defensive actions.
Tyrick Mitchell 8/10 – Unbeatable on the left, constantly putting in vital challenges to neutralize the threat on his side.
Jairo Riedewald 6/10 – Won back the ball a few times, yet lacked any threat going forward.
Will Hughes 6/10 – Showcased nice energy to cover a lot of ground to keep things ticking in midfield.
Jeffrey Schlupp – N/A
Jordan Ayew 5/10 – Lacked any creative threat and wasted a few half-chances he got.
Odsonne Edouard 5.5/10 – Unable to get a sight at goal, but created a major chance in the second half that was wasted.
Jean-Philippe Mateta 4.5/10 – Had an uneventful game and wasted the one big chance he got in the second half.
Substitutes
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi 6/10 – Moved around nicely with the ball, but his final product left more to be desired.
Chris Richards 6/10 – Helped his side be defensively stronger.
Lack of ruthlessness haunts Nottingham Forest
Steve Cooper’s side were arguably the better side in the attacking front, but lacked the finishing skills. They just couldn’t ruthlessly put away their opportunities and will be gutted not to go back home with more than just a point.
⛔️ Clean sheet.
😩 Missed chances.
👊 Battling display.Read how #CRYNFO unfolded ⤵️
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) October 7, 2023
Nottingham Forest
Matt Turner 7/10 – Showed nice reflexes in his goal with a few impressive saves.
Serge Aurier 6.5/10 – Proactive and threatening in the first half but taken off at half-time due to an injury.
Willy Boly 7.5/10 – A tidy figure in defence, constantly coming up with clutch clearances to thwart Palace’s threat.
Murillo 7.5/10 – Confident and strong at the back, winning a lot of duels and moving sharply with the ball too.
Harry Toffolo 7/10 – Restricted Palace’s threat through the left and worked really hard in going up and down the left.
Orel Mangala 6.5/10 – An energetic figure in the deeper midfield role, winning back possession a lot of times and moving the ball forward nicely.
Ibrahim Sangare 6/10 – Worked hard in midfield, but unable to create much.
Nicolas Dominguez 6/10 – Distributed the ball around efficiently, yet lacked that creative spark in creating something major.
Morgan Gibbs-White 7/10 – Lively in the final third, moving around in threatening fashion and saw a few instinctive attempts saved well.
Callum Hudson-Odoi 5.5/10 – Couldn’t create anything major despite moving the ball around well.
Chris Wood 5.5/10 – Toothless in front of goal and created one chance that was wasted.
Substitutes
Gonzalo Montiel 6/10 – Had a late long-range attempt deflected. Defensively solid.
Anthony Elanga 5.5/10 – Moved around sharply but couldn’t really test the goalkeeper.
Divock Origi 5.5/10 – Unable to act as an upgrade over Wood.
Ryan Yates 6/10 – Disciplined in his role in the second half.
Cheikhou Kouyate – N/A
The final word
This is the kind of result to frustrate both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest fans, with the latter side probably being more annoyed not to get a win.
However, both teams will probably accept one point seeing how it helps them move slightly forward in the Premier League table and also adds to their clean sheet tally.
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