Things were looking bleak for Crystal Palace and Oliver Glasner, but results and performances have picked up as of late.
The Austrian manager’s tenure in charge of the Eagles, though victorious, has also been full of controversy.
His constant clashes with the board and critiques of their modus operandi has led to his eventual exit at the end of the season, the club announced on 16th January.
Ironically, this specific moment has been somewhat of a turning point in their season. Palace are now unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions. This is their longest undefeated run since the first 11 matches this term (W5 D6).
What has led to Oliver Glasner steadying the ship at Cristal Palace in 2026?
Freedom and peace of mind?
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Oliver Glasner announcing his exit has actually made things better short-term.
His main complaints towards the club were all connected to, transfer market strategy, recruitment and investment. Crystal Palace once had Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze playing alongside each other in his famous 3-4-2-1, but now have to make do with Ismaila Sarr and Yeremy Pino.
Brennan Johnson and Jorgen Strand Larsen have been as underwhelming as it gets for club-record signings and Evann Guessand is no true replacement either. To make matters worse, Marc Guehi joined Manchester City in the winter transfer window and no defender came in after that.
However, since Glasner won’t have to worry about any of that come 30th June, things may get easier to deal with. Of course though, it’s always darkest before dawn.
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Immediately after announcing the Austrian would depart Selhurst Park at the end of the campaign, Palace suffered a true meltdown at Sunderland. They went 1-0 up but conceded the equaliser three minutes later only to lose in mid-second half being utterly out-classed in the final 45 minutes.
That plus the shock FA Cup defeat to non-league Macclesfield left most of the fanbase expecting – or even wanting – his sacking.
Despite all this, things have got better since then. The Eagles have played 15 matches during Glasner’s ‘notice’ period, winning seven, drawing four and losing four. It’s a considerable improvement to their form throughout the whole season before that.
| Crystal Palace stats | Since Jan 16th | Before Jan 16th |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 15 | 34 |
| W-D-L | 7-4-4 | 12-12-10 |
| Points won | 56% | 47% |
Tactical tweaks
That’s not to say that there were no tactical elements to Crystal Palace’s much improved performances.
While Glasner has maintained his usual system, he has made a few quite significant and noticeable changes to how his side plays.
The Eagles have actually recorded very similar goalscoring and ‘goal-conceding’ stats before and after the fateful announcement. They went from scoring 1.2 to 1.4 per game, while conceding the same 1.0 per match on either side of January 16th.
Their expected goals tally has also remained the same (1.7 Expected Goals), while the xG against have also been similar (from 1.2 to 1.1 xGA). And it’s no surprise, considering the squad has barely gotten better – in fact it may have gotten worse.
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But the catch is how they reach those numbers, with Glasner showing his adaptability once more. First and foremost, Palace went from averaging 46% possession to 56%. Of course, they have also played many teams they should defeat regardless. But their approach when they have the lead has surprisingly changed.
In this recent span, they have actually seen more of the ball while ahead (52%), while this average was at 42% before. And they had faced weaker opponents in the early stages of the Conference League back then as well.
What stands out the most is how they have switched gears in-possession. Usually a fast, direct team looking to go long and accelerate play down the wings, they now spend more time trying to break teams down. Advanced Opta data clearly evidence this recent change in style.
| Crystal Palace per-game stats | Before 16th Jan | Since 16th Jan |
|---|---|---|
| Deep buildups | 177.8 | 198.5 |
| Sequences with 10+ passes | 8.1 | 13.3 |
| Long ball percentage | 12.9% | 10.7% |
| Direct speed upfield | 1.49 m/s | 1.21 m/s |
| Passes per sequence | 3.1 | 3.7 |
As both ends are connected, their out-of-possession work has also changed. Palace have been pressing teams more often, seeing an uptick in their PPDA (passses per defensive action) tally, from 13.1 to 10.0. Opponents now have less time to think and play out from the back when facing the Eagles.
A few of their defensive numbers have improved as well. Keeping possession has been a useful defensive tool, seeing as the Eagles have conceded two fewer shots over the past three months (8.9) relative to the previous five (10.8). Big chances faced have also gone down (2.1 to 1.7).
The players may have also benefitted from all of the recent changes. As we mentioned before, Crystal Palace still score and create roughly the same amount before and after January 16th. But they have become a more efficient side doing so.
| Crystal Palace per-game stats | Before 16th Jan | Since 16th Jan |
|---|---|---|
| Shot attempts | 13.3 | 13.2 |
| Expected goals | 1.7 xG | 1.7 xG |
| Big chances | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| Big chance conversion | 30% | 34% |
It could be that the current squad fits a more patient and intricate approach better. This would also impact who the next manager should be, so the board is likely taking notes on this second half of the season.
At the same time, it could also be that the whole club are in a lighter mood knowing that this iteration of the team will end soon. Maybe they want to give it a proper send-off and that explains the recent turn in results – or maybe it’s a little bit of everything.
But it’s clear that Palace have leaned on this new tactical approach in recent weeks. Let’s see if they will keep it up in the final stretch of the season as they seek another trophy to cap the year off.