Crystal Palace soaring under Oliver Glasner ahead of European bow
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Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner congratulates his players after the win over Liverpool.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Crystal Palace enter unfamiliar territory on Oct 2 as they make their first full venture into European football riding a club-record 18-match unbeaten run and fresh off a win over the English Premier League champions.
Oliver Glasner’s team head to eastern Poland to play Dynamo Kyiv in the Conference League, brimming with confidence after an impressive 2-1 victory over Liverpool
Palace’s only previous experience of continental competition was one home-and-away tie in the now-defunct Intertoto Cup back in 1998, but they return to Europe after beating Manchester City to win last season’s FA Cup
That was the club’s first major trophy, and it was followed by another triumphant day out at Wembley with a Community Shield win over Liverpool
Palace lost a court battle over their demotion from the Europa League after falling foul of Uefa’s rules governing multi-club ownership, a rare defeat in recent times for a team thriving under Glasner.
The 51-year-old Austrian’s stock has risen to the extent that he is now considered among the favourites for the Manchester United job, if Ruben Amorim is sacked.
“I follow all the rumours – and that’s all they are,” he told Kicker magazine on Sept 29.
But rewind to just a year ago and Glasner’s own position was under threat after a dismal start to the season, in which Palace won just one of their first 13 league games.
Glasner took over a team flirting with relegation when he replaced Roy Hodgson in February 2024 but has overseen an astonishing transformation at Selhurst Park, despite losing arguably his two best players.
Michael Olise left for Bayern Munich in 2024 while Eberechi Eze completed a switch to London rivals Arsenal in August.
Crucially though he managed to hold on to captain Marc Guehi at the transfer deadline after the England defender looked set to join Liverpool.
Glasner denied reports he threatened to quit Palace if Guehi was sold but made a compelling case that convinced chairman Steve Parish to cling on to the centre-back.
“At the end of many discussions, it was the chairman who asked me: ‘Oliver, do you think we can manage the season when we sell Marc?’ I said: ‘Honestly we can’t manage it in the short term’,” said Glasner.
“If you want this scenario for Crystal Palace and you are fine with it, sell Marc. If you don’t want to have this, then we have to keep him. And then he decided we keep him.”
Palace risk losing Guehi for nothing when his contract expires in the summer but are reaping the rewards for now, with the Premier League’s joint-best defensive record through six games.
The Eagles are the only remaining undefeated team in the league and have already faced four of the sides who finished in the top seven last term. They are up to third place and trail leaders Liverpool by just three points, despite the vast disparity in resources.
Only Fulham and Aston Villa spent less money this summer than Palace, whose main signing was Spain winger Yeremy Pino from Villarreal in a deal worth up to £26 million (S$45.1 million).
To put it into perspective, Premier League clubs splurged over £3 billion on new players in the summer, with Liverpool spending a record amount of nearly £450 million.
Glasner is finding a way to extract the best from the players at his disposal.
Jean-Philippe Mateta has scored 29 times in 56 league games under Glasner, while Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton are flourishing too, as is the tireless Daniel Munoz.
Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards are part of a formidable back three with Guehi, and Dean Henderson looks to be the goalkeeper that United were hoping he would become at Old Trafford.
Glasner, who won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22, can make more history with Palace against Dynamo by eclipsing the club’s record unbeaten run originally set back in 1969.
But in a competition where they are viewed as trophy contenders alongside Fiorentina and Strasbourg, Palace will not be content with simply getting a taste of European football. AFP
