In just one afternoon, talk of relegation danger abated and the whole mood at Crystal Palace was lifted. The Oliver Glasner era had begun.
The Austrian may feel he is no David Copperfield-style magician, but victory in his first match seems to have changed what is possible for Palace.
They now sit 13th in the table, eight points above the drop-zone. Crucially, there seems excitement among fans for their next game, not impending dread.
Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Burnley was helped by a number of factors, and these must not be forgotten in among the deserved plaudits for Glasner. Namely, the win came against the Clarets — one of the League’s most generous sides — and, more accurately, against 10 men, after Josh Brownhill was sent off after 35 minutes.
Palace, though, still had to be patient, as they secured the win after three goals in 11 second-half minutes.
The floodgates opened in the 68th minute, as Chris Richards headed home his first Palace goal. Glasner insisted he had not been involved in how the Eagles set up in last Monday’s 1-1 draw at Everton, which he watched from the stands. Yet, on Saturday, they adopted the same 3-4-2-1 formation and starting line-up.
In time, the 49-year-old hopes to instil the ferocious intensity that made his Eintracht Frankfurt team so formidable.
“It was six-to-no shots at half-time, 15-to-two at the end,” Glasner said. “We know it was a very good performance, but I also saw many things we could improve.”
It will have pleased Glasner how seamlessly Tyrick Mitchell and Daniel Munoz took to new roles as wing-backs, as well as how important young substitutes Matheus Franca and Naouirou Ahamada were in securing Palace’s biggest home League win in almost two years.
Franca’s £16million move from Flamengo garnered plenty of excitement last summer, and this was his finest display yet. Five minutes after his introduction, he assisted Jordan Ayew for the second goal. He then ran the length of the pitch before earning a penalty which Jean-Philippe Mateta converted.
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