When Crystal Palace lost to Bournemouth a fortnight ago, manager Oliver Glasner compared the 3-0 defeat to a friend’s birthday party that took place a few days before his wedding.
The “wedding” in that scenario was Palace’s Conference League semi-final second leg against Shakhtar Donetsk, which Glasner’s team won 2-1 to confirm their place in the final.
With Palace’s focus now firmly on the grand final against Rayo Vallecano in 10 days’ time, Glasner made five changes to the team that lost to Manchester City in midweek, leaving the likes of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Chris Richards and Jefferson Lerma on the bench.
There were no colorful analogies on this occasion as Palace dominated for long periods, although Glasner will be disappointed not to get the victory his team deserved.
To make matters worse, the visitors suffered injuries to two centre-backs, Chadi Riad and Richards, late in the second half.
Richards had to be helped off the field after going down in second-half stoppage time, leaving him doubtful for next weekend’s final day match against Arsenal, and possibly the Conference League final in Leipzig.
