Glasner praises 'great' Henderson & Palace's shift in mindset
Oliver Glasner says the combination of an excellent performance by goalkeeper Dean Henderson and a change in mindset at half-time was instrumental in securing Crystal Palace a well-fought draw with Manchester United.
The manager told Palace TV: "It's an easy summary: in the first-half we needed a great goalkeeper, and we had a great goalkeeper with Dean Henderson.
"He kept us in the game, he kept us alive, because the first-half was 100 percent how we don't want to play, and we needed clear words at half-time.
"It was very positive that the players could switch their mindset, not about tactics or anything, it's just their mindset to be competitive and play forward and not play so cautiously like we did in the first-half.
"And then at the end, with the chances in the second-half, I think the point is okay for both teams."
Glasner brought on both Jefferson Lerma and Ismaïla Sarr at half-time, with their introductions helping Palace gain a foothold in the contest.
He noted: "Our subs have always had impact in the last games, and this is how a team works – maybe the players are still a little bit tired or not in their best shape, but then it's for everyone to be ready to help support the team.
"Ismaïla Sarr was [brought on] because we needed more runs in behind, more directness to the goal, and he did great, and Jeff Lerma, because we lost too many duels in central midfield in the first-half.
"We needed physical presence and also his experience, and he also did great, together with all the other team-mates, and we could see a completely different second-half."
Palace enjoyed their first clean sheet of the Premier League season on Saturday evening, and Glasner explained: "I think the clean sheet on both sides is the responsibility of two unbelievable goalkeepers today.
"But in the second-half we did much better, and we have now two full weeks to train. We didn't have it until now, because we can see there's too many things that are not clear for everyone, there's not the synchronicity we need, and so this is what we will work on in training: in possession, out of possession, set plays.
"We were struggling in any part of the game in the first-half, but we could control it much better in the second-half."
On Sarr, Glasner added: "We could see it in the last games, and he shows it in training, that he's ready to help the team, and as he did today, he had a great impact.
"JP Mateta had a great impact against Leicester City with two goals, very important goals to get the draw, so this is what we need, we need everyone.
"We can't play with 11 through the whole season, and so that's very positive."