Glasner explains half-time talk that sparked win
Oliver Glasner says Crystal Palace’s reaction to a difficult first-half display proved the catalyst for taking all three points in the second at Leicester City.
The Eagles were off the boil in the first 45 minutes at the King Power Stadium but, thanks to good work defensively and with Dean Henderson making some important saves, went in level at the break.
They emerged a more creative and clinical unit in the second-half and – following goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marc Guéhi – finished as worthy winners as they rose to 14th in the Premier League table.
Glasner told Palace TV: “The best thing today is the result, and we're really pleased with the three points, with the clean sheet, with the goals we scored – but we can't be satisfied with the performance today. Especially the first-half was not good.
“We were lucky that it was a draw at half-time and then it was a little bit louder than usual in the dressing room, and the players showed a good reaction. But still, I think we can do better.
“In the second-half, we created some chances and in the first-half, to be honest, almost nothing, and then we looked a little bit… everything looked so slow.
“But the players showed a good reaction, which shows again their great character, their great mentality, their great togetherness. And then we decided the game in the right moments, keeping the clean sheet, and now we go home, of course, being happy with three points.”
On the second-half itself, Glasner added: “I wouldn't say it's impressive – it was better. The goals were great and we just did what we wanted to do in a better way.
“We found our 10s in the pocket, but they also moved better. And when we see the first goal, then we need this dynamic because we knew when we find our players there, they drop with their defence and then we need runs in behind, like JP in this situation.
“I think in the first-half, we didn't even run in behind. We just always stopped and passing back and back and of course then you can't create chances or score goals. And this we did much better in the second half, but it's all about doing these runs, effort, and then you get the reward.
“We got the reward. Also very good defending, great set play, good communication between Ebs [Eze] and Marc and great pass, great finish.
“Overall, again, it was important to win here, to come closer to the places in front of us and of course, to reduce the gap to the teams behind us – but also we have to be critical with us. We need a better performance than it was today.”
On Will Hughes, who impressed after returning to the starting line-up following a foot injury, Glasner noted: “Today also, to be fair, it was a little bit tricky because Jeff [Lerma] had to go off after 15 minutes feeling sick and we knew Will can't play 90 minutes after being out of training for two weeks.
“But yes, we wanted a left foot there also who can switch the side, because we knew we had an overload on the opposite side. And we need his aggressivity, we need his passing, his one, two touches. It's great.
“But after 60 minutes, he ran out of fuel. And so, yes, I think Daichi [Kamada] did really well also for getting structure into our game. It’s good that all the players are back now.”
Guéhi’s goal was his third of the season, and Glasner smiled: “Especially here in the Premier League, set-plays are a big issue and we are talking about it. Also, we didn't train in the last two days because it was recovery, but we showed them many clips and what we want to do.
“And I think now Trevoh [Chalobah] had three, Marc has three, Maxence Lacroix has one, Dani Muñoz has two. So, yes, we have many goals here. It helps us to win games, and this is what happened today.”
Palace extended their unbeaten away run in the Premier League to six matches with victory at the King Power Stadium – a club-record run in the competition, and their first such stretch in the top-flight since 1992.
On the travelling support, Glasner said: “It's unbelievable. We could see it was so foggy at the end, but our fans go everywhere: midweek, weekend, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
“Thank you very much for this great support again. I mentioned it at the beginning of the season, it's so important to have a great togetherness in the club, but also with our fans, and this is what they show every game at home and away.
“What we can do is [make sure] that they go back with a smile on their faces, and then showing the game and the result, and this is what the players did again.”