BY ALEX PEWTER
Crystal Palace ended their 2024 with a 2-1 victory on Sunday against Southampton, courtesy of goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Eberechi Eze.
It was a far more challenging game than the Eagles’ Austrian manager Oliver Glasner may have liked, but having set a target of four points from this pair of post-Christmas fixtures, it is job well done for his team.
“I’m pleased with the win today,” said Glasner. “Everybody expected that we would win this game against Southampton at home, and these games are often the most difficult ones.
“We started well and then all of a sudden, we were 1-0 down with the first situation in our box. It made it more tricky, but the reaction from the team was brilliant.
Crystal Palace v Southampton – Premier League, Selhurst Park, 29 December 2024Picture : Keith Gillard
“We played forward and created chances, even if we missed them – but they always believed.”
The Palace team has made strides to improve their threat from set-pieces and that was the decisive factor in overturning the 1-0 deficit after Tyler Dibling opened the scoring.
“Today we were really dangerous with set plays,” said Glasner. “We scored both our goals after set-pieces and we could have decided the game a bit earlier.
“This is a story we have had in many games this year and it’s what we need to work on and what we’ve tried to improve. All the players worked hard for it, so we could win three very important points.”
One contentious moment in the game, at least in the mind of Southampton manager Ivan Juric, was the decision to allow Chalobah’s equaliser to stand after an alleged foul by Jean-Philippe Mateta on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Glasner was diplomatic about the call from the VAR.
Crystal Palace v Southampton – Premier League, Selhurst Park, 29 December 2024Picture : Keith Gillard
“I think it’s a foul all over Europe but not in England,” he said. “The referees told before the season during a manager meeting that not all contact is a foul and this is what makes the Premier League number one in world football.
“You can see this [type of contact] in almost every set play. If this goal was disallowed there must have been eight goals by Arsenal that should have been. Maybe you can remember the direct goal from Cunha [for Wolves], where they had one player in front of the goalkeeper and one at the back. This is what every team is doing. They try to use the rules to their advantage.
“This is what we are doing as well. This isn’t about complaining, this is the Premier League. Everybody knows it. It’s about finding a solution.”
PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD