Glasner on why he was pleased with a point against Villa
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said he was proud of his players after Palace were held to a 0-0 draw with in-form Aston Villa.
Palace shaded a tight contest against Villa, although both sides had chances to snatch all three points.
In the end the Eagles had to settle for a draw and a clean sheet at Selhurst Park. However, their manager was still proud of the team – and in particular the way they showed their battling qualities against a strong opponent.
"It was a very good point today and really I give credit to the players," Glasner told Palace TV. "I'm very proud of every single player on the team. Because of all the circumstances... playing here against maybe the most in-form team in the Premier League.
"And then getting this well-deserved point.
"I think everybody could see and feel that in the first-half especially, we didn't have a lot of confidence.
"I think our fans were surprised that we had so little confidence. But then they helped us and pushed us, so we could get back into the game in the second-half. It was a very good performance.
"The game could have gone either way honestly, but for me it's a very important point and a well-deserved point."
The result means Glasner is now unbeaten in six meetings against Villa boss Unai Emery. And the Palace boss said he was particularly proud considering how stretched his squad was.
Palace were without both Jefferson Lerma and Nathaniel Clyne after they were injured during the Newcastle game, with Chris Richards returning, but only ready for the bench.
This point gives me again a lot of confidence for the upcoming month
—Oliver Glasner
"We had 12 and a half fit players today," Glasner added. "Because Chris Richards just had yesterday's training session and that was the first time he was wearing his boots in the last two weeks.
"To then make so much pressure like we did in the second-half, that makes me proud.
"We didn't feel anybody was fatigued and it was really great to see. And then of course you could see that, in these 20 minutes [when Palace controlled the second-half], football is a game of momentum very often, and we had it.
"That would have made it easier [to score], but we missed a few chances.
"But again, the effort, the togetherness and how we worked into this game today was really great to see. And that's why this point gives me again a lot of confidence for the upcoming month."