Manager Oliver Glasner was extremely proud of the efforts of everyone involved in the historic victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final.
“It feels really good, it feels really good,” said the manager after the win.
“I am a little bit exhausted now. It was a very intense game, not just for the players, but also for us! Our players had to work so hard, being so concentrated and focused, not giving Aston Villa chances and also always playing forward in the right moments and creating chances.
"So our players did unbelievably well to stick to the plan. For me, it was a tricky moment when we missed the penalty because they got the momentum and then there were two or three situations to overcome.
“Dean Henderson had a big save too. I think that's the difference to when we lost at Newcastle - we didn't lose our heads after the missed penalty.
“We stuck to the plan. We knew that we would get our situations and then we scored from it, so it was an unbelievable performance from the players.
“Other than that little bit of momentum after the penalty, it felt like the most complete performance, controlling, defensively strong, attacking on the counter-attack and when we had the ball in possession.”
The dominant display over Villa not only secured a place for Palace in a third-ever FA Cup final, but also broke a rut of four games without a win.
Addressing the previous form, the manager said: “Oh, yes, and I think I talked about it after these defeats and that we always try to learn from it.
“Yeah, it was tough. It was hard and it was disappointing for all of us, but it's not now. It's not saying everything is over, we can't play anymore
“We lost a little bit of our head, especially in Newcastle, 1-0 down. We went all in, where we didn't have to go all in in the first-half and then it's 4-0 and it's game over.
“Today the players could prove that they learned from it and it's really unbelievable how quick these players, this group of players are learning, because it's easy to show them, to tell them.
“You have the moments in a very important game in an outstanding atmosphere at Wembley, and they stayed calm. They stuck to the plan and waited for the situation and so it makes me really proud how the players performed today.”
Finally, on the incredible support the players received during the game, the manager was incredibly grateful and appreciative of it all.
“Thank you very much for the support, it was incredible.
“I told the players, and I think it's the same for the fans, you know, there’s three, four, five minutes after the game. I said: ‘these moments you can't buy.’
“These moments, you have to deserve them. Seeing all this happiness, all these smiling faces, this togetherness, this spirit - it helps you to achieve something great.
“And now there’s one more step. It was not the last step, not the final step. We have one more step to go, but of course, it's great to play in the final.
“It will also be great to have half of Wembley full of Crystal Palace fans once again.”
