Oliver Glasner said the difference between Crystal Palace and Liverpool was the ‘efficiency’ in their team after the Eagles slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield that effectively put an end to their Premier league season.
Oliver Glasner put the difference between Crystal Palace and Liverpool down to ‘efficiency’ as The Eagles slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield.
Palace travelled to Selhurst Park with their heads held high after advancing to the Confererence League semi-finals but they found themselves 2-0 down at half-time.
Goals from Alexander Isak and Andrew Robertson put a major thorn in Palace’s hopes of beating Liverpool for the fourth time this season, after they had already done so in the Community Shield, League Cup and return fixture in the Premier League.
Daniel Munoz did score for palace with 20 minutes to go but ultimately it proved to be futile, as Liverpool took a 3-1 lead when Florian Wirtz scored in the 96th minute.
It was a match that rather got away from Palace rather than the Eagles were well-beaten and Glasner believes there was a clear thing that separated the two sides: ‘being clinical’
He told Sky Sports: "The difference was the efficiency, Liverpool were clinical and we were not.
"The Liverpool goalkeeper [Freddie Woodman] had the day of his life so congratulations to him.
“We kept believing until the end - it was really positive and this is what we take into the final weeks.”
Having already beaten Liverpool three times this season, it is fair to say that there was significant amounts of confidence heading to Anfield on this occasion.
And, although this time the Eagles came out on the wrong side, Glasner believed this performance was their best one and that it will give them the confidence they need to push on this season.
He said: "I told them that I think it was our best performance here against Liverpool. We were very competitive here today.
"I showed them the stats. We were 2-0 down at half-time, and you could say 'we rest our power for the Conference League semi-final' then maybe lose 4-0, or something, but we didn't.
"This performance will give us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”
Glasner also had his say on the one controversial moment of the match, when Munoz scored while Woodman appeared to be down injured.
The former Newcastle and Preston goalkeeper did get back up and finish the game off for the Reds and so for that reason, Glasner is of the opinion that the goal was fine to stand.
He added: "It was a difficult situation because he [Woodman] made a big save but the ball goes to Muñoz," he added. "Everything goes so quickly.
"He could continue the game until the end and that's why we think it was the right decision. I think that this was okay."