Palace Boss Points Finger at Hierarchy After 'Tough' Defeat
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has delivered a stunning critique of the club's hierarchy, suggesting their failure to invest in the squad over the summer is directly costing the team points. The Austrian's comments came after his side let a lead slip to lose 2-1 to Manchester United at Selhurst Park on Saturday, November 30, 2025.
The Eagles looked comfortably the better side in the first half and took a deserved lead into the break thanks to a Jean-Phillipe Mateta penalty. However, the match turned after half-time as a tiring Palace conceded twice to Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount, handing an improved United a 2-1 victory.
A Recurring Problem After European Fixtures
Glasner pinpointed the club's hectic schedule as a key factor in the collapse, but he was clear about where the ultimate responsibility lies. Palace were playing their second game in a short period, having faced Strasbourg in the Conference League on the preceding Thursday. This pattern has proven costly.
The Eagles have failed to win any of their weekend league matches following a Thursday night European fixture this season. Glasner stated that this recurring issue is a direct result of the club's decisions in the summer transfer window, which he believes have left his squad without the necessary depth to compete on multiple fronts.
'I think it’s what we missed in summer, definitely,' Glasner told TNT Sports. 'I never talked about it until now, but everything that happened was pretty clear. If you play for the first time in your club’s history, European football, I think the right answer is invest and not save. We saved and that’s what we are facing.'
Investment Failure After Key Sale
While the club did bring in players like Yeremy Pino, Borna Sosa, and Jaydee Canvot, only Pino has become a regular starter. This lack of impactful recruitment followed the high-profile sale of key playmaker Eberechi Eze to Arsenal for £60 million.
Glasner clearly feels that the funds from Eze's sale, and more, were not adequately reinvested to strengthen the squad for its historic European campaign. 'This group of players give me everything every single day, but I think this group of players didn’t get the right support,' he lamented.
He added, 'But I know we will stick together, we will work hard to change this. We’re still in very good positions but again, I think this was a chance to have an even better season, we threw away in summer.'
The manager's future at the club is now a major talking point, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current season. Given the impressive work he has done in south London, he is expected to have no shortage of suitors.
Reflecting on the United defeat itself, Glasner analysed the goals conceded. 'Tough defeat, when you lose the game on two set-plays it makes it tough,' he said. 'We were not sharp enough, especially the second goal was terrible. I watched it back, it took us too long to get into the formation then three players from the wall ran out. I don’t know why we were doing this, but we did. That’s why we lost the game, in the end.'
He concluded, 'I have seen us, especially in the first half, better than Man United. Then in the second half, when you concede two quick goals then we can see the energy level is not top after the tight schedule that we have. Again it feels not really deserved, it hurts and of course we know we should have done better in a few moments, but in the end we have to accept it.'
The result saw Manchester United leapfrog Crystal Palace in the Premier League table, climbing to seventh and pushing the Eagles down to eighth place.
