On December 19th, Beijing time, the quarter-final of the EFL Cup reached its climax with a fierce battle between Crystal Palace and Arsenal. In the end, Crystal Palace suffered a 2-3 defeat. After the match, Crystal Palace's manager Glasner analyzed the whole game in detail in the interview.
Glasner opened the game with a blunt statement: "We started the game at a very high level, scoring quickly and injecting great confidence into the team. Unfortunately, however, in the first half we seemed to be overly fearful of our opponents and overly cautious, especially in possession. We should have played at a superb level, but the duel did not reach the heights we expected."
He continued, "Although we scored two goals, which is positive news in itself, the ending was somewhat of a letdown. At a home ground like the Emirates, we should have at least had the chance to play a penalty shootout. But unfortunately, we failed to capitalize on our chances and ended up losing."
Talking about Arsenal's second goal, Glasner looked a bit angry: "I think that goal was clearly offside, but unfortunately the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) did not appear in this game. As we all know, it became a big controversy in the game. In addition, they had too many chances in the second half and we gave them too much space and time. When they found our gaps, our attacking and defensive transitions looked too slow, which allowed them to create threats easily."
Glasner's words revealed his disappointment and regret over the team's performance. He believed that the team had obvious deficiencies in terms of reverence for the opponent, ball control, and offensive and defensive transitions, and that these problems directly led to the eventual loss.
The loss was certainly a heavy blow for the Crystal Palace team. However, Glasner and his team must quickly adjust their mentality, learn from the defeat and get ready for the coming matches. We have reason to believe that under the leadership of Glasner, Crystal Palace will show more strength and better performance in the coming matches.
