By Freddie Jennings at Selhurst Park
PIERRE Sage said it wasn’t about “revenge” and praised the performance of goalkeeper Walter Benitez after Crystal Palace beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on former Eagles boss Oliver Glasner’s first return to Selhurst Park after he left the South Londoners in the summer.
It was Palace’s their first league victory at home this season, as Forest were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal.
Dan Ndoye opened the scoring for the visitors in the third minute when he calmly finished past Benitez following Anan Khalaili’s poorly-judged header.
The Israeli wing-back did create a good opportunity that Jorgen Strand Larsen couldn’t convert, yet Forest looked more likely to score a second.
Ndoye should have beaten Benitez with a free header at the far post after Morgan Gibbs-White clipped the ball over to his unmarked team-mate, before ex-Eagle Daniel Munoz found himself in space moments later, but could only put his half-volley wide.
Palace gave the ball away on countless occasions in their own half and should have been punished when Gibbs-White hit the bar before the rebound fell to Liam Delap. The £50million striker signing from Chelsea volleyed from yards out, but lacked the composure needed to beat Benitez as the ball hit the Argentinian.
Somehow Palace found an equaliser before half-time when Daichi Kamada scored his first Premier League goal for the club after a tidy team move.
Almost unbelievably, the hosts took a lead into the break when Jefferson Lerma nodded home from Adam Wharton’s corner. Sage’s team had turned the game around from what looked like a difficult situation.
Forest rallied with a corner of their own just after the break as Jaydee Canvot deflected the ball onto the post before a melee resulted in centre-back Murillo heading an effort into Benitez’ arms.
In the 59th minute, Yeremy Pino scored Palace’s third with a low drilled shot that beat the retreating defender Neco Williams on the line.
The Reds persisted, forcing goalmouth scrambles and trying shots from range, but Palace showed a composure on the ball that had been lacking in the first half to see out the game.
Forest substitute Chris Wood came the closest of anyone to another goal with a free header that Benitez tipped over the bar.
This fixture is the Premier League’s newest bitter rivalry, after Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League in 2025-26 and replaced in the former by Forest.
Palace gave away 24 attempts on their goal, as Forest ended the game with an xG of 2.97 compared to the hosts’ 2.38.
“It is not normal to give away chances like this,” Sage said. “We have to find the consistency on this like we did at Leeds.” The defensive discipline seen in that 0-0 draw at Elland Road was clearly lacking here, and it took the heroics of Benitez to prevent the Eagles going further behind in the first half.
“His performance was crazy, we are very happy with all our goalkeepers because they keep us in a good way to win games,” Sage said. “Without Walter the mentality to win would have been different.”
One big concern was the amount of time and space that Forest were afforded leading directly to opportunities to strike at the Palace goal. “We must be more efficient in one-on-one defending,” Sage said. “Too many times they got through on goal and we need to be honest with what happened on the pitch.”
Glasner led the Eagles to the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference Leagues trophies before making the decision to leave the club in the summer.
Sage said: “I have a lot of admiration for what he achieved here. I never spoke about the old manager to the players before the game, it is not about revenge for every individual player, it is only about one game.”
Sage faces his former side Lyon in the Europa League group stage on Thursday. He added: “When you win you have the need to play again and then we have a big game in Lyon. We know the game was not perfect today but sometimes we have to win like this.”
Meanwhile, Glasner took some stick from the home fans but there was also plenty of support for a manager that delivered the first two major trophies in the club’s history.
“At the end, it’s what we all want, when there is a rivalry between fans,” Glasner said.
“I think everything, also today, is how we wanted. Both supporters, both sides, supported their team with a lot of energy, a lot of power.
“There was maybe a few [negative ones] but I didn’t hear it, no negativity against the opposition, and it was really supporting my team, and this is how we want football at the end.
“As a manager, and I am now in football for many years, I haven’t experienced that, [being] supported from both sides, so a really huge thank you.”
