'It was a matter of time': Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says he knew he could exploit £25m Chelsea star at Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was able to find and take advantage of one of Chelsea’s weaknesses on Saturday.
Crystal Palace managed to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring the all-important equaliser in the 82nd minute.
Cole Palmer initially gave Chelsea the lead in the first half. Palmer is up for Premier League Player of the Month once again after a terrific December.
In the end, though, his goal was not enough to see off Palace, and Glasner has since spoken about how his side were able to exploit a couple of Chelsea players.
Crystal Palace convinced they could exploit Jadon Sancho
Going forward, Sancho is obviously a fantastic player. He proved that with his excellent assist for Palmer at Selhurst Park.
Unsurprisingly, though, the winger is not the best defender. And Glasner says Palace took advantage of that as they targeted his side when he became part of Chelsea’s back five.
Speaking about Sancho and Noni Madueke, who replaced the 24-year-old in the second half, Glasner told reporters: “[Daniel] Munoz and [Ismaila] Sarr are runners, very direct and we knew when we switched the play that we would have a two-v-one. We knew Sancho and Madueke have to follow them to create a back five and they are attacking players.
“We knew it was a matter of time before they lost the ball — Sancho lost the ball, and the winger loses his players. They are just not used to defending that much. It’s a pattern of our play. It had nothing to do with [Marc] Cucurella, it is just how we play with our players.”
Some Chelsea fans were baffled with Enzo Maresca’s decision to withdraw Sancho following his impact in attack.
Jadon Sancho’s numbers vs Crystal Palace
While Sancho may have struggled at times trying to defend the left flank, overall, he still had a very good game at Selhurst Park.
Again, it was the Englishman who set up Palmer’s goal. He also made two key passes and completed three out of the four dribbles that he attempted.
| Jadon Sancho vs Crystal Palace | Total |
| Minuted played | 86 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Key passes | 2 |
| Big chances created | 1 |
| Dribble attempts (successful) | 4 (3) |
Chelsea signed Sancho on loan from Manchester United, but the England international is set to join them in the summer permanently for a £25m fee.
Looking at his performance against Palace and some of his other displays this season, that price is a real bargain.
Sancho’s productivity has gone up at Chelsea, so leaving United for the Blues was the right move for the former Borussia Dortmund man.
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