Crystal Palace spring to life after chastening 40 minutes to spoil Glasner's return with Nottingham Forest
Premier League
Crystal Palace (2) 3 Kamada 41,Lerma 45+4, Pino 59
Nottingham Forest (1) 1 Ndoye 3
The Eagles made light of a dismal first-half display to eke out a first home win of the season in the league - ensuring the return to Selhurst Park would not be a happy one for former boss Oliver Glasner.
Quite how Palace managed to go in at the break 2-1 up was a mystery given a ponderous performance in which they gave the ball away time and time again - Adam Wharton surprisingly among the chief culprits - and Forest carved them open repeatedly with a game full of superior pace and purpose.
But the xG heavily in favour of the visitors counted for nothing as the Eagles collected all three points - adding a goal early in the second half to put them in the comfort zone.
This win was timely given the need to avoid drifting towards the wrong end of the division. The Eagles' ability to juggle the stresses and strains of Premier League football with another European adventure is about to be put to its first big test.
They head off to France to play Lyon on Thursday and then after the small matter of the M23 derby at Brighton, they are on their travels again to the continent, with Istanbul the destination for a clash with Besiktas.
As assists go, the one provided by Anan Khalaili after less than three minutes for the Forest opener would take some beating. His cushioned header back towards goal was an open invitation for Dan Ndoye to drive on with the intercept and slide past an exposed Walter Benitez.
Khalaili nearly made amends with a teasing ball into the middle which Jorgen Strand Larsen poked goalwards at the near post - forcing Matz Sels into a fine reflex save. Another quick raid saw Daichi Kamada pull a ball back into the danger zone for Quinten Timber to sky over.
Yet it should have been 2-0 when Ndoye had a free far-post header from a Morgan Gibbs-White cross, but his effort was at a nice height for Walter Benitez to pull off a crucial save. And the Eagles were grateful that their former hero - a masked Daniel Munoz - shot wide with a half-volley from close range.
The charmed life of that Eagles net continued when Gibbs-White's exquisite chip came back off the bar after looping over Benitez, leaving Rory Delap with the goal at his mercy. But the former Chelsea striker thrashed a shot straight at the Palace keeper, who saved superbly. The striker also badly mistimed a header when well placed.
And Forest were made to pay for failing to cash in on all that dominance when Kamada popped up to find the net after an untidy passage of play that ended with Strand Larsen stabbing the ball into space for the midfielder to put the ball away.
The half then ended with a completely undeserved scoreline when Jefferson Lerma powered in a back post header from a Wharton corner, which had been won after Tyrick Mitchell's shot from distance was tipped over by Sels.
The feeling this was meant to be Palace's day only grew at the start of the second half when Gibbs-White's touch at the far post was saved by Benitez and Pierre Sage's men scrambled the ball to safety.
Sure enough, Yeremy Pino made it 3-1 before the hour was up, picking up the pieces after Stand Larsen's shot had been turned aside by Sels. As with the previous two goals, there was a VAR check to go through before a goal was confirmed but once again the original decision stood.
Game over, more or less. Not even Chris Wood - on for the hapless Delap - could put a clear header past Benitez when the chance presented itself.
"Glasner, Glasner, what's the score!" sang Palace fans. They had not given him a bad reception by any means, but now were happy enough to tease him about being 'sacked in the morning.'
Eagles: (3-4-2-1) Benitez - Richards, Lerma (Ahanor 72), Canvot - Khalaili, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell - Kamada (McNeil 90), Pino (Sarr 83) - Strand Larsen (Nketiah 83)
Forest: (3-4-2-1) Sels - Aina (Kalimuendo 83), Diomande, Murillo - Munoz, McAtee, Schlager (Sangare 66), Williams - Ndoye (Hudson-Odoi 72), Gibbs-White - Delap (Wood 72)
Attendance: 25,120
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