Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has hit back at accusations that Crystal Palace are failing to entertain supporters after a second consecutive 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park. Palace played out goalless draws against both Cypriot side AEK Larnaca and Leeds United.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has hit back at accusations that the club lacks its traditional, exciting attacking options.
Eagles fans endured a second consecutive 0-0 draw against Leeds United, having also played out a goalless draw against AEK Larnaca in the Conference League on Thursday.
That is the first time since October 2024 that Palace failed to score in consecutive home matches, and sees them with just seven open play goals at Selhurst Park this season, the worst total in the entire Premier League division.
The Eagles have netted 33 goals this season, a total only Wolves, West Ham, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest have fewer than.
But Glasner is adamant that Palace have never been a side that has succeeded off the back of attacking football and their 35 goals away is only beaten by Arsenal and Manchester City.
Glasner said in a press conference following the 0-0 draw with Leeds: “We are close by, we are playing European football. Yes, we know we have some topics to improve, but I don't like it if everybody is so critical.
Oliver Glasner has hit back at accusations that Crystal Palace are boring. Image Credit: Action Images via Reuters"For me, it seems like Crystal Palace was always playing for the Premier League title and always playing such great football, and now they are not doing it anymore, and I think that's completely unfair, especially for the players.
"I don't know if Crystal Palace always played so entertainingly, scoring three, four, five goals a game. I don't know.
"Since I've been watching Palace, this has never happened. It happened in a very short period when Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise played in the front.
"But I can't remember; we haven't seen it before, since I started watching Palace.
"Our foundation was always the defence, everything we achieved here.
“Having the two best years in Crystal Palace history is related; the foundation is the great defence and conceding very few goals.”
Is Glasner right?
Since Palace were last promoted back to the Premier League in the 2013/14 season following an eight-season hiatus from the top flight, they have only notched 50 or more goals on five occasions.
Two of those came under Glasner, with Palace scoring 57 goals in the 2023-24 season, courtesy of a resounding 4-0 win over Manchester United and a 5-0 win over Aston Villa.
Last season, they netted 51 goals, so they are 18 goals short of that total with eight games remaining.
Ismaila Sarr is Palace's top scorer this season with 13 in all competitions. Image Credit: ReutersThe 33 goals scored is already better than their total in the 2019-20 season though, where they could only muster 31 goals, their lowest since promotion.
It seems fair to say that Glasner can be proud of his record with Palace in the Premier League, and defensively, they remain sound.
Should they score another nine goals this season to maintain their average of 1.1 goals per game, they will hit 42 goals scored, which is better than five Premier League seasons since 2013/14, suggesting while it is a drop off from Glasner’s first two seasons, it has still been a solid season for Palace.