How Oliver Glasner solved complex Crystal Palace puzzle in terrific Tottenham win

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Crystal Palace recorded a much-needed win against Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

This could have been Oliver Glasner’s last league game at Selhurst Park, as the pressure mounted on the Palace boss who has had a challenging start to the season. Not that all the problems at the club were his, but in the world of football, the manager is always expected to come up with the answers, and he’s been working behind the scenes at Copers Cope Road to try and find them.

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From behind-closed-doors friendly games to one-on-one meetings, sources at the club's training ground have said it was easy to see that the Eagles manager was concerned about how things were going. With the club being linked to David Moyes, he knew that there’s no smoke without fire.

So what did he do? He went back to what he knew best, setting up the team like he did last season, and took the bold decision to start huge summer signing Eddie Nketiah on the bench, giving Jean-Philippe Mateta the same role he had towards the end of last season that helped them win games.

He also handed Ismaila Sarr a start, which he had been clamouring for amidst all the chaos, and Sarr delivered. His pace was a constant thorn in the side of the Tottenham players, reminding the home fans why the board had been trying to sign him for the last few years.

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But the biggest puzzle he solved was sorting out the roles of Eddie Nketiah and Mateta. Palace paid a lot of money for Nketiah to come in and lead the line, and I get that they need to find a way to integrate him into the team.

However, you have to admit that the slot belongs to Mateta, and he’s earned it with the way he’s been playing over the last six months.

There comes a time when managers have to be bold and make the right calls, and today was one of those days—Glasner got it right. He’ll hope to carry that momentum into the Aston Villa game.

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