OLIVER Glasner said Crystal Palace did a lot of things right despite their 5-1 pounding by Arsenal at Selhurst Park last weekend, but felt they were let down by their defending in the box.
After losing 3-2 to Mikel Arteta’s side following Gabriel Jesus’ hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup the previous Wednesday, the Brazilian striker was back to terrorise the Eagles’ defence against as he scored either side of Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser to make it 2-1 after fifteen minutes.
Kai Havertz scored before half-time, with Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice completing the rout after the break.
It was Palace’s first defeat in six games in the Premier League.
“You can see how crazy football is sometimes, because when you compare today’s half to the first half at Emirates, it was far better today, but we were 1-3 down and there we had one more than they had,” Glasner said.
“Many parts of the game, many parts of football we did really well, but one very important part, defending our box, we did terribly today.
“We conceded three goals in the first half after crosses, and this is what we have to do better. A top team like Arsenal, they punish you if you give them too much space in your box.
“That was the disappointing part, but I think how we played, the goal we scored was amazing. The chances we created, how we pressed them in many situations was really good. But the crucial part is defending our box, and this was not good enough.
“We wanted to make it a little bit more open, playing with more bravery, that’s why we could create several chances, but again, when you concede five goals, you can’t win it.”
Sarr has scored four goals in his last seven games.
Glasner said: “He’s in great shape. He had two big chances straight after half-time, and getting the second, maybe you are back again, and this is also what top teams are doing. They get one chance and then game over with the fourth. The efficiency was really outstanding from Arsenal.
“Ismaila is getting better and better, and we are really delighted with his performances.”
Glasner added: “Our fans are always important.
“Even when we were down and the fourth goal killed the game, it was game over, but the fans stayed quite positive. I think everybody who goes home today feels the game didn’t feel like a 1-5 defeat, but it’s also something we have to analyse and to work on. When it’s a little bit more open, we [must] defend better.
“Merry Christmas to all our fans and thank you for all the support. We have one more home game against Southampton in 2024. I am pretty sure that we will have a great support at Bournemouth [on Boxing Day] and against Southampton.”
