Chris Wood is currently in impressive company. His goal midway through the second half secured Nottingham Forest's first home victory of the season, placing him among the elite few who have scored more than 16 Premier League goals since Nuno Espírito Santo took charge at the City Ground just before last Christmas. Only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer have outscored Wood during this period. The New Zealand forward, who will turn 33 by the time Nuno celebrates his anniversary, has already scored five league goals this season, helping Forest climb to eighth place in the table after a hard-fought win over Crystal Palace, who remain mired in the relegation zone.
Wood had missed three clear chances in the first half before finally scoring the decisive goal. Dean Henderson, the former Forest goalkeeper, inadvertently assisted with a weak hand that failed to stop Wood's 20-yard shot. Bryan Roy and Stan Collymore are the only other players to have reached the 20-goal mark in the Premier League for Forest, a milestone Wood is now close to achieving.
Forest fans chanted 'Premier League, what the fuck?' in response to recent sanctions, fueling their team's energetic start. With head coach Nuno, owner Evangelos Marinakis, and captain Morgan Gibbs-White all serving bans for various disciplinary issues, Forest faced a challenging situation. Despite these problems, Forest managed to draw level on points with seventh-placed Tottenham, highlighting their strong away form.
Early in the game, Forest dominated possession but left a gap in front of their defense, which Palace nearly exploited. Eberichi Eze nearly scored with a 20-yarder that just missed the target. Forest created several chances for Wood in the first half, but it was Eddie Nketiah who almost broke the deadlock for Palace. Wood missed several opportunities, including a header cleared off the line by Jefferson Lerma and another that went high and wide.
In the second half, Palace came close to scoring, but Matz Sels made crucial saves. Forest's assistant head coach, Rui Pedro Silva, prepared Jota Silva for a potential substitution. Wood finally capitalized on a weak header by Trevor Chalobah, scoring a low shot from 20 yards that slipped under Henderson's arm.
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