Glasner on positives in defeat, Palace's busy spell & Richards update
Oliver Glasner says it is important that Crystal Palace build on the impressive second-half display – and strength of mentality shown after going a goal down – in the eventual penalty shootout defeat at Arsenal.
Palace were second best in the opening 45 minutes and were indebted to goalkeeper Walter Benítez for going in level, but put in an eye-catching display in the second period – only to then fall behind late on to an unlucky own-goal.
Instead of caving, the Eagles rose to the challenge once more – with Benítez again impressive – forced spot-kicks thanks to Marc Guéhi’s close-range finish.
A high-quality shootout ensured, with Palace missing just once – but it was sadly enough to see them eliminated from the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage once again.
Glasner told his post-match press conference: “Of course, when you lose a game, when you lose on penalties, you're always disappointed.
“On the other side, I'm delighted with the second-half performance today, especially after the first-half performance – that was really bad. Walter Benitez kept us in the game, but the second-half was much better, it was an all-even game.
“We had already two penalty shootouts this year, and we won both, and today Arsenal were the lucky team. To be honest, I've watched many penalty shootouts in my life, but I can't remember having seen so many well-taken penalties. It's always somebody who has to miss, and today it was one of our players, but nobody is to blame.
For us, it's important to build on the second-half performance and also show that great character again
—Oliver Glasner
“I spoke to the players. For us, it's important to build on the second-half performance and also show that great character again. All of a sudden, in the second half, one-nil down from a set-play, it looked like deja vu from the league game [against Arsenal in October].
“Then, coming back again, with everything that’s happened in the last weeks and months, is a huge credit to the players for their mindset – so we'll take many positives from today's performance.”
Glasner gave an update on Chris Richards, who was taken off on a stretcher late on following an accidental coming together with Gabriel Jesus.
“He got a knock on his foot, a stamp on his foot, and it had to be stitched,” said Glasner. "I don't know how many stitches, but a few.
“The doctor told me it doesn't look so bad. I'm always hopeful. We have to be hopeful. I don't know if he will be okay for the Tottenham game, but I'm still hoping that he will be back against Fulham.”
Reflecting on Benítez’s brilliant display – the goalkeeper preventing just over three xG (expected goals) across the 90 minutes – Glasner said: “Dean [Henderson] is our number one, but Walter deserves to play the cup games and he saved the penalties against Millwall in the third round.
"He had a clean sheet against Liverpool [in the fourth] and he's doing really well in the training, so he deserves to play this competition.
“Also, to be honest, last year Matt Turner started [in the Carabao Cup] and then when we played here at the Emirates, I changed the goalkeeper. We played Dean Henderson and we lost, and I said to Dean, ‘I'm a little bit superstitious, I don't want to change the goalkeeper again.’
"That was the reason that Walter stayed in the goal, and he showed that he deserved it.”
After a frantic spell of fixtures, with three in three different competitions in the last six days, Palace now face the relative luxury of a small gap in the calendar over Christmas, before hosting Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park on 28th December.
Glasner said: “The next two days, they [the players] won’t hear anything.
“I think now it's so important to switch off and not talk about football. Everybody has a family. The parents deserve that their sons come home, not the football player comes home, and the wives, the girlfriends, the children, [deserve] that the dad and the husband is now at home, not the football player, talking about football.
“Two and a half days, really switching off completely. We have five games in the next two weeks, but now it's really: leave football.
“Then, when we meet on the 26th in the afternoon, we will analyse this game today. Of course we will. I'm pretty sure we’ll take many positives from it. This performance, and the switch of the performance especially, should give us confidence, definitely.”