Oliver Glasner was in no temper to alter his strategy. His confidence was clear. “We come right here to win,” he instructed his Crystal Palace gamers within the dressing room as they ready to face Liverpool yesterday. And the one manner they might win, he mentioned, was to take action as a workforce.
Glasner has by no means wavered in his perception — in himself, his strategies and his gamers. He insisted there can be no white flag or acceptance of a possible defeat to a workforce chasing the Premier League title. He mentioned as a lot per week in the past earlier than a 4-2 defeat by Manchester Metropolis through which his aspect started to point out what he needed from them, and he stayed true to his phrase at Anfield by setting his workforce up in a much more attacking system than would have been predicted.
That positivity is relentless and it nonetheless has the potential to backfire, however after six video games of making ready his aspect to play in a brand new, formidable and attacking fashion and take the sport to the Premier League’s elite, now was the time for outcomes to match the development in performances. There have been, in any case, simply 5 factors separating them from the relegation zone earlier than kick-off on Merseyside.
At Anfield, with a slice of fortune and a few dogged, decided defending, that’s exactly what they achieved: a 1-0 victory providing a lift-off to the Glasner period at Selhurst Park.
Jean-Philippe Mateta comes near scoring within the first half in opposition to Liverpool (Paul ELLIS / AFP)
“We confirmed that (togetherness) on the pitch and (the supervisor is) delighted as a result of the whole lot he’s asking us to do, we’re making an attempt our utmost to point out that to him on the pitch,” mentioned Adam Wharton, wonderful as soon as once more within the coronary heart of Palace’s midfield.
Glasner has carried out adjustments at Palace — not least an angle change through which obvious pessimism is exchanged for positivity.
“We had six video games and I’m not pleased with the factors we’ve got,” the Palace supervisor instructed Sky Sports activities earlier than the Liverpool recreation. “We must always have extra. I can see the event however now, in our state of affairs, it’s crucial to get the factors as rapidly as doable in order that we’re out of the underside third of the desk.”
There was a concentrate on health, with coaching periods devoted extra to working than they’ve been beforehand. There was some nervousness round who will hold their locations given the change within the system and the calls for positioned on the gamers. However that stress is welcome given an absence of competitors in some areas this season, and it appeared to play out in that manner.
Struggling to see out video games has been a supply of frustration for Glasner, an issue which was additionally prevalent beneath his predecessor Roy Hodgson. In six of his seven video games in cost, they’ve taken the lead however, earlier than Sunday’s win, these constructive begins had yielded only a single victory.
The stress has been on. Nerves have jangled among the many fanbase, particularly with Luton City’s late win over Bournemouth simply over per week in the past, however reduction should be the first emotion now as Palace sit 14th, eight factors away from the drop zone with a recreation in hand and three groups between them and 18th place.
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If there have been nerves at Anfield, they didn’t present. After 25 seconds, Tyrick Mitchell had pressured Alisson to clear a harmful cross; 18 seconds later, Eberechi Eze had pressured the Brazilian right into a save. It was an announcement of intent, and so they maintained that vitality in a formidable first interval.
The Palace frontline mixed beautifully, their slick interaction and switching of the ball the clearest signal but that this was Glasner’s Palace coming to the fore.
That was no higher illustration of this than in Eze’s Twelfth-minute aim, the product of a 21-pass sequence — damaged by a half-completed deal with from Alexis Mac Allister — which ended with Mitchell slicing again completely for Eze, who had hung again in house, to attain.
Crystal Palace strung collectively 21 passes within the build-up to their aim, damaged solely by a deal with from Alexis Mac Allister (mild blue No 10)
“It’s large,” mentioned goalkeeper Dean Henderson of Glasner’s positivity. “You’ll be able to see that within the first half. We might have been 3-0 or 4-0 up. We had a plan, we have been written off by each single particular person — and that’s the most effective feeling. We went on the market as a unit, 11 males in entrance of 62,000 folks.
“Within the first half, we have been taking part in by the traces rapidly, and creating plenty of alternatives with scoring first, we simply haven’t actually held on (in earlier matches).
“We’ve bought gamers again now, and choices to return off the bench after 60 minutes. We used all of the subs and that’s a giant distinction — when the boys are drained on the finish and we deliver contemporary legs on.”
Palace’s lack of depth has hit them onerous this season within the face of a problematic damage disaster and is among the causes for all these late concessions. The worth in having choices off the bench was evident with the substitutions — notably Jordan Ayew’s capability to win fouls to alleviate a number of the stress that got here from Liverpool wave after Liverpool wave.
Palace stood agency, although, with aggressive tackling, some very good blocks (notably from Mitchell and Nathaniel Clyne) and high quality saves from Henderson all taking part in their half in a primary away clear sheet since November. The actual fact it was achieved with just one specialist centre-half within the again three — the wonderful Joachim Andersen — underlined the size of the achievement.
Joachim Andersen was the standout performer in a Palace shirt (Michael Steele/Getty Pictures)
But Palace additionally continued to pose a menace within the second interval by high-tempo counterattacks. For the primary time beneath Glasner, the 2 No 10s felt much less pigeonholed and with Michael Olise again, there was much less weight on Eze’s shoulders.
Glasner praised his gamers all through the primary half for doing precisely what that they had ready for all through the week.
He just lately conceded that he didn’t but know what a aspect moulded in his id seemed like. However the final two matches, in opposition to elite opposition no much less, have demonstrated a transparent id which, in the best circumstances, will deliver not simply success however leisure and fearlessness.
Defeat at Anfield would have made the subsequent fortnight, that includes video games in opposition to West Ham, Newcastle and Fulham, fraught, and probably season-defining.
As a substitute, the stress has been eased and Palace are beginning to see what a future beneath Glasner might appear like.
(High photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Pictures)