Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has acknowledged that his team needs to be “perfect” in order to defeat Liverpool this weekend. He has also provided one strategy the Eagles could use to defeat the Reds on Sunday.
Following a humiliating 3-0 home loss to Atalanta on Thursday night, Liverpool will be eager to maintain pressure on championship rivals Manchester City and Arsenal when they return to domestic play on Sunday.
Following their matches on Saturday, all eyes will be on Anfield, where the Reds will host Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Although the Eagles’ performance has been inconsistent this year, things appear to be improving under new boss Glasner, who is aware of how challenging this weekend’s journey to Merseyside will be.
During his pregame press conference, Glasner discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Liverpool and acknowledged that the Eagles needed to play flawlessly this weekend.
“Every team has, of course, its strengths, and Liverpool has a lot of strengths – but also they have their weaknesses, their zones where you can find space and where you can create chances and score goals,” stated the manager of Palace.
“When you look at yesterday’s goals [vs. Atalanta]: two balls they lost and then fantastic counterattacks, and one that started from a throw-in and nobody had more than three touches, you can see that sometimes it’s not so easy to locate this space and to get the ball there because they never give you time. The final two balls, I believe, need only one touch to be completed.
“Everything needs to be flawless. After that, goals can be scored against them.”
Glasner elaborated on how Palace might defeat the Reds, stating that rapid decision-making would be essential to victory.
“What happens when they lose the ball in a lot of the games that I watch? The Palace manager remarked, “It’s like there’s a whistle and ten players are chasing the ball, which makes it so hard for you.”
“But once more, every asset has a vulnerability. I believe we understand how it can function, but for the players on the field, coming up with a solution in a pinch and knowing that pressure is on them is extremely difficult.
“But we demonstrated to you, for instance, how to win the ball three times in one touch for the first goal against Man City [last weekend], and how [Jean-Philippe] Mateta goes one-on-one with the goalie.
“So, you know, against this pressing, these quick solutions, this is the key.”
Harvey Elliott’s goal in the ninetieth minute helped Liverpool defeat Crystal Palace 2-1 earlier in the season; however, that victory at Selhurst Park in December occurred under Roy Hodgson’s leadership.
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