With their performance at Wembley, Crystal Palace seems poised to challenge Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final. Since taking over for Roy Hodgson last year, Oliver Glasner has developed a clever and adaptable team that highlights Eberechi Eze’s impressive individual skills while maintaining a cohesive unit.
However, it’s important to note the overall atmosphere is not ideal. No one truly established themselves in Ange Postecoglou’s setup ahead of the Europa League final against Manchester United later this month. Plus, concerns have emerged regarding Dejan Kulusevski’s early injuries. Although Spurs fans were vocal about traveling to Bilbao, their frustration was palpable after a disappointing 20th loss left them in 17th place in the Premier League.
It’s no surprise, then, to see so many empty seats at the stadium. Those who deemed a sunny Sunday better spent elsewhere than watching the B-team action seemed to have made a good call. The Spurs showed a lack of energy after making eight changes to the lineup that beat Bodø/Glimt just days earlier. They struggled to create meaningful plays before halftime, seemingly focused only on avoiding injuries. One of the few players likely to start against United ended up summarizing the team’s misfortune with an injury within the first 19 minutes.
If there were plans to ramp up Kulusevski’s involvement after his leg injury, they didn’t pan out as he aggravated it during an early challenge. There was concern for the Swedish player, who quickly left the field. Spurs can’t afford to lose his creative spark, especially after already being without James Madison and Lucas Bergwijn for the rest of the season.
Even before Kulusevski’s exit, Palace was on the attack. Glasner opted not to rotate his squad, aiming to sharpen their performance ahead of their match against City. Palace played fiercely, with Daniel Munoz active on the right flank, and Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma commanding the midfield, while Jean-Philippe Mateta proved a constant threat up front with his smart play.
From the outset, Spurs seemed on edge. Palace capitalized on space behind DJED Spence, who appeared out of sorts at left back. They continuously exploited this weakness, pushing Munoz forward with clever through balls. There was a moment when they thought they had scored, following a close cross just three minutes in.
Mateta almost found the net after Antonin Kinski saved his volley, and while Tharl attempted a follow-up shot, it couldn’t get past Ben Davis. Munoz also hit the bar, and Palace had another goal disallowed when a header from Macroix struck Mark Gehch’s arm.
The Spurs played with a sense of resignation, waiting for something to change. Their moment came when Mateta fell back, setting up Munoz who drew defenders before squaring the ball to Rodrigo Bentancur. Eze then capitalized, finishing into an empty net.
The first-half booing was hard to ignore. The punishment continued as Postecoglou swapped Yves Bissouma for Bentancur, yet the Spurs remained in disarray at the back. While their performance lacked confidence, Palace’s second goal highlighted their counterattacking prowess. Starting with a sprint from Sarr past Spence, the move built momentum, and despite an initial block on his cross, he set up Eze, who calmly slotted his shot past Kinski.
Palace pushed for a third. Mateta challenged Kinski again, while Sarr missed an easy header. Ultimately, the silver lining for Postecoglou came when Son Heung-min made a slow return from injury. The Spurs will need their captain against United.
