Nottingham Forest forward Liam Delap found himself at the epicenter of a Premier League nightmare on Sunday afternoon, squandering an unbelievable open-goal sitter during a brutal 3-1 defeat against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The £45 million summer marquee signing missed an opportunity that seemed genuinely easier to score than miss, sparking a catastrophic first-half implosion from the Reds.
With Forest hunting a critical second goal to put the game out of reach, Morgan Gibbs-White’s clever lob over Palace goalkeeper Walter Benitez bounced back off the crossbar. The rebound fell perfectly to Delap inside the six-yard box with the net completely unguarded—yet the 23-year-old striker inexplicably smashed his shot straight back at a recovering Benitez.
The Turning Point: How a Sitter Triggered a 3-1 Implosion
Had Delap converted the straightforward chance to put Forest 2-0 up, Nuno’s side likely cruise to victory. Instead, the shocking blunder completely altered match momentum. Shaken by the miss, Forest collapsed right before the half-time whistle, conceding three unanswered goals as Palace stormed to a 3-1 triumph.
The howler immediately ignited fierce debate across social media, with pundits branding it an instant candidate for “Miss of the Season” and questioning whether the heavy £45 million transfer price tag is weighing down the young forward.
“I Don’t Blame Him!”: Glasner Defends Delap Live on Sky Sports
Despite the match-defining nature of the error, Palace manager Oliver Glasner refused to criticize the young forward when questioned by Sky Sports immediately after the final whistle.
Offering a remarkably gracious, analytical defense of Delap’s technique, Glasner insisted that the forward’s natural instincts simply betrayed him in the heat of the moment:
“He has scored 90% of his goals with power, that is his strength, and I don’t blame him for this,” Glasner stated candidly post-match. “He knows he could have done it differently, but I think 10 times with the same situation he would have scored that.“
Pressure Mounts Ahead of High-Stakes Arsenal Clash
Delap showed flashes of his world-class potential earlier this season with a blistering goal against Aston Villa, proving he possesses the raw power to dominate Premier League defenders. However, with heavy competition in Forest’s frontline, he cannot afford for open-goal sitters to become a recurring narrative.
Forest return to action next weekend in a blockbuster showdown against Arsenal. All eyes will be on the £45m man to see if he can shake off the Selhurst Park nightmare and deliver the ultimate statement of redemption against the Gunners.
