Adam Sells’ four takeaways from Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest

Crystal Palace picked up a point on Saturday in a 1-1 draw at relegation rivals Nottingham Forest.

Jean-Philippe Mateta put the Eagles ahead early on with an emphatic finish inside the box.

But Chris Wood equalised for Forest midway through the second half to send Palace back to South London with just a point.

Here are Adam Sells’ takeaways from the City Ground:

PROGRESS EVIDENT

There were plenty of positives for Palace at the City Ground after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Three weeks without a game has helped manager Oliver Glasner get some much-needed work with his injury-ravaged squad, given the fact  his team has tired in previous games, but they finished strongly here.

Having taken an early lead in through Jean-Philippe Mateta the ‘Eagles’ weren’t able to garner all three points, but the draw at least kept the teams below them at arm’s length.

Negatively speaking, it can be said that Palace have only won one of the games against the three teams they have faced in the lower reaches of the table but given the issues with unavailable players it is a case of scratching out enough points to get over the line.

The following were all absent from the team sheet handed in an hour before kick-off; Sam Johnstone, Nathan Ferguson, Marc Guehi, Rob Holding, Jairo Riedewald, Cheick Doucoure, Matheus France, Michael Olise, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Odsonne Edouard.

A few of those faces would have strengthened the Austrian boss’ hand significantly in the quest for a victory.

A MIXED AFTERNOON FOR EZE

Eberechi Eze was the best player on the field for large parts of the game but will be disappointed he wasn’t able to put the game out of Forest’s reach. 

The England international was at his bright, effervescent best, gliding past defenders and added another assist to his total for the season.

He may however be ruing a host of missed chances, as the former Queens Park Rangers man could have had the hat-trick that his performance warranted.

Two in particular, either side of half-time saw Eze have clear sights of goal. Matz Sels denied him first time around, with his second effort steered narrowly wide after a well worked move.

Had he been a little more ruthless, Palace would surely have left the City Ground with all three points.

WING-BACKS IMPRESSED

Oliver Glasner has stuck with the three centre-halves employed during the final game of Roy Hodgson’s tenure and both wing-backs impressed here.

Daniel Munoz attacking forays have been a real plus since arriving in January and the Colombian was impressive again and unlucky not to add to a first Palace goal to his recent winner for his country against Spain. 

His second-half header came back off the post as the visitors pushed for a winner, but with the frequency that Munoz finds himself in the opponent’s penalty box, it won’t be long before he opens his Crystal Palace account.

On the left side, Tyrick Mitchell showed some nice touches in possession. Mitchell was a doubt coming into the game with a thigh injury, but he seems to be adapting the wing-back role with each game that passes and showed real composure in some difficult situations.

MATETA MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF

Jean-Phillippe Mateta scored his third goal in four games and his clinical finish was a real sign of the striker’s growing confidence, following his superb piece of improvisation against Luton in his previous outing.

Few would have predicted such an upturn in the French forward’s fortunes. He has seemed set to leave Selhurst Park in previous windows having struggled to make a real impact after joining three years ago.

But after Odsonne Edouard’s injury in December, Mateta has really grabbed his chance.

The major improvement in his game has been Mateta’s hold-up play, which was a frustration prior given the former Mainz hitman’s obvious physical attributes.

Now a real presence up top and a tremendous work rate, with eleven goal involvements this season, he is surely a contender for the club’s Player of the Season.