'Bit embarrassing' - Crystal Palace boss reveals preparation error before Leeds United bully Eagles
Oliver Glasner saw his Crystal Palace side well beaten by Leeds United at Elland Road.
Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner said his side's inability to defend set-pieces was 'a bit embarrassing' after Leeds United battered them 4-1 at Elland Road.
The Whites were physically superior from the off and led 2-0 at the break thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's brace, both of which came from Ethan Ampadu long throws and chaos created in the area. Ampadu then added a third in the second half, from a half-cleared corner that Brenden Aaronson kept alive. And Anton Stach curled in a beautiful free-kick to cancel out Justin Devenny's late penalty.
When asked if his side were 'bullied' Glasner agreed, particularly from set-pieces. "Every single one was dangerous," he said. "I can't remember one big chance from open play but we could have conceded one or two more from set-plays. It's a bit embarrassing. It's the fourth game in recent weeks losing from set-pieces. It looks like we're not sharp enough and have to show a different set-up or mind set. If you defend like we did today you have no chance to get a point in the Premier League."
It was not just in their own area that Palace failed to match what Leeds threw at them. The home side were totally dominant for almost the entire game and the Eagles manager took responsibility for not addressing basics enough in his pre-game work.
"In our attack we struggled winning duels, losing so many balls," said Glasner. "If the opposition plays man to man you have to win your duel. We did it at the end and all of a sudden you get a penalty. In the basics we were far off good enough today.
"I don't think it's anything to do with the atmosphere. I start with myself. I think the preparation was not good enough, maybe I talked too much about tactics and not the basics. They were so much better in the duels, headers, second balls. Then you can talk about tactics. It was maybe my mistake in the preparation. We can pass a little bit, it looks good, it looks nice but as soon as we were in a duel we lost the ball. "