Fighting spirit is evident as Reds pick up a vital point at Palace

THEY SHOW PLENTY OF GUTS TO KEEP TOP FIVE HOPES ALIVE

- By SARAH CLAPSON

IT is not over yet. Nottingham Forest are not done yet. They are still alive in this race and it would be foolish to write them off.

When Eberechi Eze had threatened to deal a killer blow to the Reds’ Champions League hopes, Murillo stuck out a boot and kept the dream alive. Monday night’s 1-1 draw away to Crystal Palace might not have yielded the win Nuno Espirito Santo's side wanted but it could yet prove to be an important point.

Even with just three games to go, there are still a few twists and turns left in the battle to secure a place among Europe's elite. Below, we look at some of the big talking points from the stalemate at Selhurst Park.

GUTSY DISPLAY

Seven times in his post-match press conference Nuno used the word “character”. Forest had shown it in south London and they were going to need a lot of it in their final fixtures was the Portuguese’s key message.

Not for the first time, the Reds demonstrated their bottle in the capital. Going into the clash three points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and in the middle of a run of one win in their last four Premier League games, the pressure was on the visitors.

When they fell behind on the hour mark, to Eze’s spot-kick, heads could easily have dropped. After all, Forest do not have the best of track records for coming from behind in the league this season - this was only the second time they had managed to claim a result by doing so.

But just four minutes after the opener, the visitors were level again as Murillo diverted a Neco Williams strike beyond Dean Henderson. That response took guts. Likewise, the way they stood firm in the closing stages as Palace threw plenty at them.