Glasner on draw with Fulham, Hughes injury & first half of 2025/26
Oliver Glasner says Palace can take positives from today’s draw with Fulham at Selhurst Park, with the Manager also providing an update on Will Hughes, and an assessment of the first half of our 2025/26 Premier League season.
The Manager told Palace TV: “First of all, for me, it's a good point today. It was important now, after three defeats, to cut this downwards spiral and get a point.
“At the end, we were maybe a little bit lucky with an incredible save from Dean Henderson, but before, I think as long as the legs were fresh, we played absolutely okay. We know that, with everything, the amount of games and the number of fit players we have, that we're a little bit in a survival mode. The players gave everything right until the end, and that's why it's a very good point for me.
“Everybody could see and feel it, that the legs are getting fatigued and the mind is getting fatigued. We had great support from the stands again and yes, you need in one or two moments your keeper. We wouldn't have won the FA Cup without him, and Dean was here today and now we needed it.
“We have three more games to play in the next nine days, and I can promise we will give our best in every single game. I think this is what everybody is appreciating, and I'm really proud of my side and have massive appreciation for every single player.”
“[I’m pleased] for him and also for JP, of course,” Glasner noted.
“He didn't score for a couple of games and now it was a great header, being there where the No. 9 has to be,scoring the goal, and this will help him, this will help us. We know that we need JP's goals and also from Clyney, it was a great delivery.
“I think the first-half was really okay, we did well, created a few chances, but at the end I think Fulham made so much pressure that they deserved this point.”
Glasner also gave an update on Will Hughes, who left the field after 56 minutes: “Let’s see. He just felt fatigue everywhere around the hip and once it was the hamstring, then it was the adductor, then it was the thighs…
"We have to assess him further, but of course we hope that we won't miss him in the next game, because I think nobody will return for the Newcastle game and we need him.”
The match against Fulham was Palace’s 31st of a busy season, and 19th in this season’s Premier League – the halfway mark of our league campaign.
Glasner’s assessment of the season so far was: “Challenging to be honest, yes. We have 27 points, so [we average] 0.5 points better than last year. If we do the same we have a new [club] points record, so that's why I think with all the circumstances that have happened, with the amount of games we played, with the first European experience and also with the injury situation, I think it was a great first half of the season.
“Maybe we can split it: I think the first part was excellent. Of course, if we had continued playing like this, we would be in the Champions League positions. And the second part we had to pay the bill maybe for all the games, and we were not that fresh, and then you see in the Premier League, the teams are so good and the players are so good, the managers are so good… it's not too easy then to get a point or a win.
“But [other than] Leeds away, in all other games we were always competitive and always close to getting a point or winning the game. Overall, I think the development and the progress of the squad is absolutely on track.”