Burnley earned widespread plaudits for their stubborn nature against Liverpool last weekend, but there was no praise to be received for their self-implosion inside two minutes.
The Clarets hadn’t even touched the ball by the time Forest took the lead through Neco Williams, who hammered a half-cleared corner high into the roof of the net.
Scott Parker’s men responded incredibly well to falling behind, though, and could count themselves unlucky not to have been back on level terms inside 15 minutes when, on his full debut, Florentino Luis freed Quilindschy Hartman down the left, and his half-volley forced a flying save out of Matz Sels.
It didn’t take Burnley too much longer to get their just rewards, though.
Hartman’s teasing delivery caused chaos in the Forest box, and Jaidon Anthony was on hand to get a goal-bound effort off with Oleksandr Zinchenko bundled over the line as he attempted to prevent the Clarets from levelling.
That seemed to shock Forest back into life, and only a stunning one-handed save from Martin Dubravka prevented Dilane Bakwa from re-establishing Forest’s lead, as he sprang across his goal to tip away the Frenchman’s curling effort.
Burnley came closer still to a half-time lead when Loum Tchaouna rattled a free kick against the crossbar moments before the whistle.
Only 21 seconds were on the clock for the second half when a huge chance presented itself to Anthony, but he was denied his second of the day by the legs of Sels.
The pair were duelling again on the hour mark when Anthony unleashed a rasper from distance, but in the torrential Turf Moor rain, Sels was taking no chances and punched his effort away to safety. A huge lull in proceedings followed as both sides began to look jaded.
That prompted new Forest boss Ange Postecoglou to make a triple change 15 minutes from time in a bid to seize some authority in the game.
His substitutions almost paid immediate dividends too, as within two minutes of his introduction, Igor Jesus’ header forced a world-class save out of Dubravka.
Forest looked the likelier of the two sides to find a winner in the closing stages, but they were forced to settle for a point, which has done little to boost their belief before their midweek trip to Real Betis.
It’s certainly a point gained for Burnley, although it doesn't particularly help their immediate league position, as they look to construct their first successful PL survival campaign since 2020/21.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Florentino Luis (Burnley)
