Hudson-Odoi earns Nottingham Forest a point in ‘El Casico’ at Crystal Palace

It had been billed as “El Casico”. But after crossing swords with Nottingham Forest at the court of arbitration for sport following Uefa’s decision to demote them from the Europa League, Crystal Palace couldn’t find a way to beat them on the pitch.

Public enemy No 1 in this part of south London after his perceived role in the Cas verdict, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was conspicuous by his absence at Selhurst Park, although a phalanx of beefy security guards accompanied the visiting players when they arrived. A banner that was unveiled midway through the first half made clear the animosity of the Palace fans towards Marinakis.

But having fallen behind to Ismaïla Sarr’s opener, a 57th-minute equaliser from Callum Hudson-Odoi earned a point for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side after a week that has seen the Forest manager at loggerheads with his owner. It would have been some irony if substitute Igor Jesus – who arrived from Botafogo, one of Palace’s former part-owner John Textor’s other clubs in his multi-club network that caused all the problems with Uefa – had scored rather than striking the post in injury time when clean through.

But in their first match since Eberechi Eze’s departure to Arsenal was confirmed, Oliver Glasner will have been left concerned that his side ran out of steam in the second half following their exertions in the Conference League playoff in midweek. New signings are imperative before the window closes.

Nuno had insisted beforehand that he wants to carry on at Forest despite revealing on Friday that his relationship with Marinakis is “not the same”, amid reports of disagreements with new sporting director Edu Gaspar. He said they are planning to sit down this week to try to iron things out: “We have to communicate and approach the final days of the market.”

View image in fullscreen Ismaïla Sarr puts Crystal Palace in front in the 37th minute with a shot from close range. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

The signing of four new players last week for more than £90m does not seem to have been enough to satisfy Nuno’s demands, with all of them named on the bench. In comparison, as if to underline their lack of activity in the transfer market after Eze’s departure, Glasner selected two goalkeepers and academy graduate Kaden Rodney.

Palace’s supporters unveiled a special tifo as the teams emerged with a giant image of former captain Joel Ward lifting the FA Cup with the message: “Built from glass – etched in silver.”

It didn’t take long for Forest’s travelling supporters to make themselves heard. “Marinakis he does what he wants” was given an early airing, with virtually all of Palace’s fans responding with a chant about Uefa that has become the anthem of their summer.

Temperatures weren’t quite as raised on the pitch, with Forest making the more promising start in a fixture that is not usually noted for being a goalfest, with Chris Wood firing wide from close range. Palace slowly found their rhythm and Jean-Philippe Mateta forced Matz Sels into a save with a shot from outside the area. Gibbs-White should have done better from Wood’s clever cutback but could only clear the crossbar by a mile.

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Palace took the lead eight minutes before half-time when Forest failed to clear Tyrick Mitchell’s cross and it was quickly recycled to Daniel Muñoz by Adam Wharton. The Colombian’s cross was inch-perfect for Sarr to tuck home. It could have got even better for the hosts had a powerful drive from Will Hughes not whistled just past a post before captain Marc Guéhi struck a post with a header just before half-time.

Forest are always a dangerous proposition on the break, however, and after a strong start to the second half, Palace were hit by a sucker punch. Dan Ndoye’s crossfield ball caught Mitchell napping and Hudson-Odoi was able to muscle his way into the area and beat Dean Henderson at his near post. Watching on from the stands, Thomas Tuchel will have been intrigued to see the midfield battle between Wharton and the impressive Elliot Anderson, with honours just about shared.

James McAtee – who captained England’s Under-21s to retain their European title in the summer – made his debut as Forest smelled blood, with fellow new boys Arnaud Kalimuendo and Omari Hutchinson also being introduced.

Glasner had been downbeat on Romain Esse’s chances of filling Eze’s boots but the 20-year-old, who joined from Millwall in January, showed glimpses of his talent when he came on that could bode well for the future. Yet Forest could have snatched it at the death through Igor Jesus, although they still maintained their record of not having lost here since 2003.

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