Crystal Palace rediscovered their resilience in time for when they need it most

New York Times

21-04-2025

Sometimes, adversity brings the best out of you.
The past nine days have been difficult for anyone of a Crystal Palace persuasion after Manchester City and Newcastle United took turns hosting and smashing five goals past Oliver Glasner's side.
Glasner said Palace needed to take 'one more step back' and go 'back to the roots' before their match against Bournemouth. That was in serious jeopardy when Chris Richards was sent off in first-half stoppage time for tugging on Justin Kluivert's arm, a second caution after being booked for fouling Dango Ouattara earlier.
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Following Eberechi Eze's offside goal to make it 3-0 against City and his missed penalty to draw Palace level at St James' Park, Richards' dismissal was another poignant Sliding Doors moment. This time, Palace used it to their advantage.
The Athletic's match dashboard, showing how Crystal Palace restricted Bournemouth's opportunities in front of goal
The first half at Selhurst Park was hardly a classic, at times offering a throwback to the 0-0 draw at the Vitality Stadium on Boxing Day. Bournemouth enjoyed 65 per cent possession and had six shots, but they yielded just 0.4 expected goals (xG, a measure of the team's quality of chances). Andoni Iraola's side were at their best when their forwards or full-backs ran in behind the defence, but those moments were infrequent and appropriately dealt with.
Palace were content with staying solid and hitting the visitors on the counter, but that quest for solidity created anxiety. Richards hit a clearance against Bournemouth striker Evanilson in the third minute that went unpunished, Maxence Lacroix hacked at the ball multiple times, and Tyrick Mitchell fought a losing battle against Antoine Semenyo. Mitchell was also on the receiving end of Will Hughes' fury in the 43rd minute when the Palace wing-back was caught on his heels, allowing Bournemouth to recover possession in Palace's defensive third.
'When you enter with 10 goals conceded in the last two games on your shoulder, it is not easy, and we could see (the players) were not full of confidence in the first half,' Glasner conceded after the match.
Richards' dismissal could have dented that confidence further, especially given it arrived 10 minutes after Bournemouth's Alex Scott had avoided a similar second yellow card for bringing Ismaila Sarr down on a Palace break. Scott was replaced by Lewis Cook at half-time, perhaps an admission from Iraola that his midfielder was treading a fine line.
But instead, the moment galvanised Palace. Eze, who, along with Sarr, was Palace's principal outlet, was withdrawn at half-time for the physicality and aerial ability of Jefferson Lerma. Glasner added post-match that Lerma's introduction was made to shift Palace's shape from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-4-1. That back four turned into a back five when Bournemouth entered the attacking third, with Daniel Munoz slotting in alongside Lerma, Lacroix, Marc Guehi, and Mitchell.
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The compact setup — and the situation itself — brought the best out of all five, particularly Mitchell and Lacroix, with their positioning and nine combined clearances after the break made with complete conviction.
Hughes and Adam Wharton shut down the central areas, forcing Bournemouth to work around Palace rather than through or in behind them like they did in the first half. Wharton, showing confidence and an understanding of what Palace required, produced a moment of quality in the 49th minute when he made a perfectly timed sliding tackle, got back to his feet, and carried the ball past a player before being fouled by Ouattara, who was booked. Wharton's all-action display is illustrated in his player dashboard below.
Behind them all, Dean Henderson convincingly dealt with whatever came his way while actively targeting Sarr and Munoz on the right wing with his goal kicks. The duo, who have produced plenty of goals during Palace's best displays in 2025, showed their defensive value up the pitch, outduelling Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez and Cook repeatedly to win the first ball and force throw-ins to get their side a breather. Jean Philippe-Mateta hustled with Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen all afternoon and was valuable in defensive set pieces. The late substitutes — Daichi Kamada, Eddie Nketiah and Justin Devenny — helped finish what the rest had set in motion.
Every time Bournemouth raised the tempo with quicker passes and more off-the-ball movement, Palace responded with resilience and did the simple things right. Contrary to games against Manchester City and Newcastle, where they were punished for individual errors, this was a display characterised by unified discipline.
In the context of what Palace have ahead of them, with Arsenal in the league on Wednesday and Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday, perhaps they needed to flirt with disaster and know they have what it takes to combat it. Facing Arsenal at the Emirates is a challenge, even with them throwing their eggs in the Champions League basket. Villa, who Palace beat 4-1 in February, have won five league games in a row since and demolished Newcastle 4-1 hours after Palace's draw.
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Post-match, Glasner deemed his team's second-half performance 'outstanding' before adding that he saw 'a little bit of disappointment' in the dressing room for not beating Bournemouth. If they scale that peak at Wembley on Saturday instead, the 45 minutes that followed Richards' red card a week earlier will be viewed as one of the catalysts.