OLIVER Glasner said Crystal Palace’s defeat to Everton at the weekend was “disappointing and frustrating” as the Eagles’ poor run at Selhurst Park this season continued.
Beto put David Moyes’s Toffees in front in the 42nd minute before Jean-Philippe Mateta levelled two minutes into the second half with his fourteenth goal in all competitions in 2024-25. The goal stood after a lengthy VAR check for a possible offside.
Everton were the better side in the second half and Carlos Alcaraz scored the winner on his first Premier League start when he finished from close range with ten minutes left after Will Hughes had deflected Ashley Young’s low shot into his path.
Palace were the better team in the opening half and thought they had taken the lead when Jefferson Lerma headed past Jordan Pickford, only for Justin Devenny’s corner to be ruled to have gone out of play.
It was only Palace’s third league defeat in their last fourteen games, but it was a second successive 2-1 defeat at home after Brentford’s win last month. Palace have only beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in their own backyard in the Premier League this season. Palace were overtaken in the table by Spurs after their 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and sit thirteenth, level on points with a resurgent Everton since the return of Moyes.
“It was a very disappointing result, very frustrating,” Glasner said. “It was a little bit similar to the Brentford game. I think we had two or three good chances in the first half, we didn’t take them. I spoke before about efficiency.
“The direction was good, we had the momentum. But also, to be honest, Everton did well. Our [pressing] distances were too big because we were a little bit threatened by the long balls.
“They got into our final third. They got their set-plays that they wanted and in one of these situations they scored the decisive goal. But this [set-pieces] is one of their strengths. They are very physical and in this situation we couldn’t defend it.
“What I have to do, together with my staff, is to find better solutions against a team that defends also with a back five to create more moments, more chances.
“This is what we will work on, because the character of the team is amazing.”
Palace travel to Fulham on Saturday.
Glasner said: “Now we stay calm. Everybody goes home disappointed and it’s good like this. But then we will start preparing for this game at Fulham.
“It’s good, we have one more training week for players coming back from injuries.
“Of course, it’s good for Adam Wharton, it’s good for [Eberechi] Eze, it’s good for Eddie Nketiah. And then we will go there, well prepared in the best way and give our best and try to win.”
Ben Chilwell made his Palace Premier League debut when he came on for Tyrick Mitchell after an hour. It was the on-loan Chelsea defender’s his first appearance in the league since last April, also against Everton in a 6-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
“We know Everton’s strengths. They played to their strengths and got two goals that suited their game,” Chilwell said.
“I think we did well to get back into the game straight after half-time and we fought well. It wasn’t a bad performance. Now we’ve got a week to prepare for the next game.
“We reacted well, got ourselves back into the game. And then at the end, they just got the late winner. But even after that we fought and tried to push on to get an equaliser. I think the mindset and the fight was there for the whole 90 minutes.”
Chilwell added: “I’ve come in and tried to help the team and will continue to help the team in the changing room and on the pitch.
“I tried to do that and hopefully, whether it’s home or away, we can try and pick up wins and climb up the table.”
