Glasner on winning at Anfield, the travelling fans & update on Nketiah
Oliver Glasner hailed a mission accomplished as Crystal Palace swept Liverpool away 3-0 at Anfield to advance to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
A stop-start first-half was turned shortly before half-time by two decisive Ismaïla Sarr finishes – the latter an impressive combination with Daichi Kamada and Yeremy Pino – before Pino added a third in the closing minutes of the game after Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men late on.
“A very good result,” was Glasner’s assessment, speaking to Palace TV. “To be honest, the first 15 minutes, I was not pleased with our performance. It looked like we were still in the hotel beds, but then the rest of the game we did well, we scored very nice goals.
“I think in attack we still could have created more clear chances in the second-half, and the last ball wasn't so good. But again, winning 3-0 at Anfield is a great result. Reaching the quarter-finals was our goal, and we did it.
“Just one negative aspect: Eddie Nketiah unfortunately got injured with his hamstring again, but everything else worked how we scheduled it.”
Glasner was pleased with Palace’s decisive finishing before half-time: “Especially the second goal. I really loved how we played here. A great ball from Daichi [Kamada], the three players connected, and it was so quick, then Isma gets the finish and stays calm. It was important scoring the second. We did well.
“It looks like Isma likes to play against Liverpool – he's always scoring against them! But on the other side, he needs all the other players around him.
“Like in the first goal, Dani Munoz makes a great run into the box, and he's there. In the second, as I mentioned, the three attackers were connected, and it was quite a nice goal.”
They had to pay for tickets, they had to pay for the train, and they had to take time off from their work. I think they deserved it
—Oliver Glasner
With a 2-0 lead to manage at half-time, Palace came through the second period relatively unscathed, with Glasner noting: “We’re always talking about our standards.
“Regardless of how the score is, regardless of where we are playing, regardless of which team we are playing, we set our standards. We want to play Crystal Palace football in and out of possession.
“We want to see the patterns we are training, we are talking about, and making the runs. The players did it. I think we can still do it better.
“Playing the champions three times in three months and winning all three games is exceptional. Credit to the players, because they did it.”
As for advancing, Glasner hailed the role which the travelling sold-out away end played: “That was the goal. I think it's also what our fans deserved.
“Thank you very much. Big credit to our fans. Thousands made their way up here to Liverpool for the midweek evening game. They had to pay for tickets, they had to pay for the train, and they had to take time off from their work. I think they deserved it.
“We went for the win. Now everybody goes home happy. That's what we wanted, qualifying for the quarter-finals. Then, let's see.”