Crystal Palace have taken a comical swipe at Nottingham Forest on social media after thumping West Ham United 5-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Oliver Glasner's side outclassed the Hammers at Selhurst Park and raced into a three-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes - a new club record - thanks to goals from Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and an own goal from Emerson Palmieri.
Olise, who starred alongside Eze, then turned provider for Jean-Philippe Mateta to net Palace's fourth on the 31-minute mark, before Michail Antonio pulled one back for West Ham on the stroke of a frantic first half.
The high-flying Eagles continued to dominate after the interval and Mateta marked a fine attacking display with his ninth goal of the campaign midway through the second half, before Dean Henderson scuffed an attempted clearance into his own net in the dying embers.
That late mishap from Henderson did not dampen the party atmosphere at Selhurst Park, though, as Glasner's side secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season, a week on from beating Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.
© Reuters
Crystal Palace take swipe at Nottingham Forest on X with comical post
Palace's victory came just a few hours after Nottingham Forest suffered a 2-0 away defeat to relegation rivals Everton at Goodison Park in a contest where Nuno Espirito Santo's side were once again left frustrated with controversial refereeing decisions.
Everton's Ashley Young was involved in three incidents, clipping both Giovanni Reyna and Callum Hudson-Odoi inside the penalty box either side of handling the ball at the near post, but VAR decided against intervening or sending on-field referee Anthony Taylor to the pitchside monitor.
After the match, Forest vented their frustration with a strong-worded statement on X - formerly known as Twitter - accusing VAR official Stuart Attwell of being a Luton Town supporter.
The statement read: "Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept.
"We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn't change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options."
Five extremely good goals - two goals conceded - which we simply have to accept.#CPFC will now enjoy their Sunday.
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 21, 2024
Palace have since taken to X to celebrate their victory over West Ham and respond to Forest's statement with a similar tongue-in-cheek post of their own.
The post read: "Five extremely good goals - two goals conceded - which we simply have to accept. #CPFC will now enjoy their Sunday."
While many Palace supporters have commended the club's comical social media post, Forest have been criticised by Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher for their "horrendous" and "embarrassing" statement.
While Forest remain in danger of relegation, sitting 17th in the Premier League table and just one point above the bottom three, Palace have all but secured their top-flight status as they sit 14th and 11 points clear of the drop zone with a game in hand on 18th-placed Luton.
Oliver Thomas
