How Did Glasner Praise Palace for Their FA Cup Final Journey?

Wembley, April 27 (NationPress) Head coach Oliver Glasner commended Crystal Palace for successfully following his strategy, leading them to their first FA Cup final appearance since 2016.

The Eagles secured a convincing 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Wembley, thanks to a stunning strike from Eberechi Eze and two goals from Ismaila Sarr, marking their third FA Cup Final in the last nine years.

“While it’s easy to discuss plans, executing them as the players did today is quite challenging, and they deserve all the credit. Their adherence to the strategy and hard work was commendable. It was fantastic to see how they maintained composure after the missed penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta. We faced two or three critical moments, with Dean Henderson making an important save, but we kept our cool,” he stated.

“We remained composed, awaited our opportunities, adhered to our strategy, and ultimately reaped the rewards. It was an extraordinary performance,” he added.

Eze opened the scoring for Palace with a spectacular curled shot from just outside the box after thirty minutes, followed by Sarr extending the lead just before the hour mark. The Eagles capped off their victory stylishly as Sarr broke free during stoppage time to net his second goal and Palace’s third.

“It was vital to deliver such a performance today. This was our fifth match in two weeks, and although we aimed to win every game, we fell short in four of them,” Glasner remarked.

“These experiences contributed to our performance today. When we work diligently as a team, creating chances against us becomes challenging, and we can consistently pose a threat to the opponent's defense through our transitions.”

“The atmosphere leading up to the match was fantastic. I felt quite relaxed. I had to make some tough decisions, such as not starting Will Hughes and Jeff Lerma, who had both performed admirably. I opted for Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada in midfield,” he explained.

“They could have been disappointed or frustrated, but their response was, ‘Okay, gaffer, if the team needs me, I’ll be ready.’ From that moment on, I felt truly at ease. It’s a remarkable group of players,” he concluded.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery acknowledged that both the outcome and the manner of the defeat would be hard to swallow for his team, yet he admitted that they were outperformed on the day and reassured Villa fans of better days ahead.

“They possess excellent players and performed admirably. We didn’t play at our best, which happens sometimes. Our performance fell short of our usual consistency. They were the superior side today,” he said.

“They are a strong team, consistently playing exceptionally against us. In our last four encounters, we've lost three and drawn once.”

“When I arrived two years ago, we were in a dire situation, but we are making significant progress and improving rapidly. Yes, we also lost in the Europa Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos. All our efforts are raising our expectations, and today’s defeat is something we must accept,” he stated.