Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi continued his excellent late-season form with the opening goal in a final-day draw at Crystal Palace.

Awoniyi kept the away fans in good spirits when he raced on to Morgan Gibbs-White’s superb through ball, twisted and turned before firing into the bottom corner on 31 minutes.

It came just a minute after Eberechi Eze had seen his close-range effort blocked on the line by team-mate Jordan Ayew at the other end.

Palace were on top for much of the second half and found the equaliser after 66 minutes, when Will Hughes headed in from Michael Olise’s cross.

Neither side was able to find a winner and both can begin their plans for next season in earnest, although for Palace it remains to be seen whether that will be with Roy Hodgson at the helm.

Another Hodgson farewell?

Hodgson returned to Palace with the team having gone 13 games without a win. In the 10 games since, the Eagles have won five and drawn three to not only take them well clear of the relegation scrap but also above Chelsea to finish 11th.

While the fixtures may have been friendlier than those Patrick Vieira had to negotiate before his dismissal, it has been an impressive turnaround under the former England boss, with performances as well as results much improved and Eze one of a number of exciting young players reinvigorated since the change of manager.

“My situation is very simple: I took on a job, I was pleased to take on the job,” Hodgson told BBC Match of the Day.

“The mandate was a simple one – to come in and help the team to get the number of points we need to stay in the league. That’s what I’ve done and what I’ve enjoyed doing.”

Hodgson’s contract is up at the end of the season and the 75-year-old has given no indication as to whether he wants to stay should he be offered the chance.

Asked whether he would like to, Hodgson added: “I’m not prepared to make any comment like that. Before I start talking about whether I want to stay anywhere or take on any jobs, someone better offer me one.”

But there was no obvious goodbye to the fans at the final whistle and it would be no great shock if Palace started the 2023-24 season with Hodgson in the dugout.

Forest fans party as Awoniyi reaches double figures

After beating Arsenal to guarantee their safety last weekend, the Forest fans were understandably in the mood to celebrate.

Some fans wore masks with the face of manager Steve Cooper, who brought them up and has now kept them in the top flight.

As important as Cooper in the past few weeks have been the goals of Awoniyi. The 25-year-old striker has scored six in his past four games and is the first Forest player to score in four straight Premier League games since Stan Collymore in 1995.

“You always want your number nine scoring goals,” Cooper told Match of the Day. “I’ve said before that we missed him a lot when he got injured and he missed three months. He was doing well just before that and so to get him back in the form he has shown has been excellent.”

His goal at Palace was also his 10th of the campaign and both he and Forest will hope there are plenty more to come next season.

• Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment