Chris Wood scored his seventh goal in eight league games as Nottingham Forest moved back out of the relegation zone with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
In their first match since being docked four points by the Premier League for breaching profit and sustainability rules, Forest needed a 61st-minute equaliser from their in-form forward to cancel out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early strike for the visitors.
Having been plunged into the bottom three following the points deduction, Forest climbed to 17th place on goal difference after Luton fell to defeat at Tottenham.
Forest have this week launched an appeal against their punishment but there was little by way of a rousing response from the players until the second half and they still have only one win from their last 10 league matches.
Before kick-off fans in the Trent End unveiled a large banner which read ‘We shall fight and we shall overcome’ but the spirit in the stands was not matched by the performance on the pitch in the opening 45 minutes and Palace scored with their first real attack just 11 minutes in.
Jefferson Lerma intercepted a loose ball and then played a slide-rule pass to Eberechi Eze, who laid the ball off for Mateta to power in his third goal in his last four appearances, leaving Matz Sels with no chance as he found the top corner.
Three minutes later the lively Eze tried his luck with a free-kick from deep on the left, with Sels taking no chances as he tipped it over at the far post.
Forest had plenty of the ball but no final delivery as Palace, seeking a win which would edge them towards safety, were happy to drop deep, getting all 11 players behind the ball.
There was no service for the returning Wood as Forest failed to test their former goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who replaced the injured Sam Johnstone for Palace.
Seven minutes before half-time Oliver Glasner’s side should have doubled their lead when Adam Wharton’s threaded pass from deep sent Eze through on goal but Sels was out quickly to smother the shot.
Nuno Espirito Santo sent on Anthony Elanga for Ibrahim Sangare at the break but again it was Palace who were quick to threaten, with Eze bending an effort wide after being played in by Wharton following a short corner.
When Callum Hudson-Odoi cut in from the left in the 52nd minute his shot was easy enough for Henderson to punch clear but Forest were starting to find some encouragement and drew level just after the hour.
Morgan Gibbs-White floated a ball in from the left and Wood, with his back to goal, did well to twist and flick a header over Henderson and into the far corner of the net.
Having sat deep for so long Palace tried to up the intensity and Wharton shot wastefully over before Eze brought a good save out of Sels after beating several defenders in a run across the box.
The game went from end to end and in the 74th minute Hudson-Odoi picked out substitute Gio Reyna, who made space for himself before hitting a powerful shot that Henderson parried and Gibbs-White then sent a shot over the bar.
Palace were inches away from a late winner when Neco Williams turned Eze’s corner against his own post in the 87th minute but a draw felt like a fair result in the end.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
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