Glasner highlights ‘incredible’ elements of Palace performance
Oliver Glasner was full of praise for his Crystal Palace team after – not long after the rigours of a European semi-final – they twice fought back against Everton to claim a fully-deserved point at Selhurst Park.
Following another tight turnaround after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk, the Eagles put in a much-improved display in the Premier League, twice recovering from the disappointment of conceding in the opening minutes of a half to a combative Everton team to dominate proceedings.
Ismaïla Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta got the goals midway through either half and, were it not for the impressive performance of Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal, Palace would have surely emerged winners.
Glasner told Palace TV: “The game today makes me very proud, to be honest, because being twice down after a few minutes, after the start and after half-time, coming back and the way we came back…
“The way we played, especially the last 30 minutes, the pressure we had, it felt like Everton had just played three days ago and we looked so fresh.
“We looked so determined and really what I like was that it’s not that we wanted to get the point– we tried to win the game and create the chances. The way we played was really amazing to watch and that makes me proud.
“Also, I think today's atmosphere was great. It looks like we take this vibe now from game to game, the excitement of Thursday night into today, even when we were down twice.
“But the performance, effort, belief were incredible, and I think it was a highly deserved point.”
Glasner made just two changes to his starting XI – and two substitutions in the match – and was proud of the energetic nature of his team’s display.
The Manager added: “This is a huge credit to the players because we just made two subs today again, because the players did so well. You always want to influence the game when you make substitutions, but they did so well, so we just let them keep going.
“They did, again, until the final whistle, so well. This performance, for me, when I value all the circumstances, was one of the best performances we had against a very good Everton team.
“It's really not easy to play them with the physicality they have, but the way we played, the way we created chances was excellent.
“All these performances will help us in increasing our confidence and getting trust in our teammates and getting trust in the things we are doing.
“We always can see that even if we don't make many substitutions, we always have a great impact. It's visa versa today. JP scored, and at Shakhtar, Jørgen Strand Larsen scored. Now we have the 60-30 [minutes] rotation with them. They're always fresh and always willing to score, and all the others the same.
“This is what we want to do now until the end of the season, perform on a top level, because then we know we always have the best chance to win the games.”