IS MARC GUEHI OVERRATED? OLIVER GLASNER’S HONEST ADMISSION ABOUT PALACE’S FAILING SET-PIECE DEFENSE
Liverpool has Europe’s worst set-piece record. We analyse whether Marc Guehi is the solution or if Glasner will keep him at Palace.
It’s not just Liverpool struggling with set pieces this season. Crystal Palace’s boss, Oliver Glasner, has been pretty vocal about his team’s problems too—a message that could make Liverpool think twice about some of their transfer targets.
Everybody knows Liverpool’s set-piece defending has been a mess this year. They even made a change, letting set-piece coach Aaron Briggs go right before the new year. At that point, Liverpool actually had the worst record for defending set pieces across Europe’s top five leagues. Now it’s up to Arne Slot and the rest of the coaching staff to figure out how to fix it.
So what’s next? People are talking about Liverpool signing a new defender in January—Marc Guehi’s name keeps coming up. He almost joined Liverpool last summer, but that deal fell apart at the last minute. His contract runs out at the end of the season, so there’s a real question: Does Liverpool wait and get him for free, or do they try to sign him now and boost Slot’s options in defence?
But then Glasner’s latest comments kind of throw a wrench in that idea. Even with Guehi in the team, Palace are still leaking goals from set pieces.
After Palace lost 2-0 at Newcastle on Sunday—their fourth defeat in five games—Glasner told Sky Sports, “It was a good performance, but in the last four defeats, we lost three just from set pieces. It’s not acceptable, and I have to find solutions to support the players better. We can’t afford to give so many goals away from set pieces. That’s why we lost today. I was pleased with how we moved the ball and defended, but we need to look at where we can improve. In the second phase, it’s just too much. We need to do better.”
So, if anything, Glasner sounds even more determined to keep Guehi at Palace for the rest of the season, even if that means letting him leave for nothing in the summer.
He’s already hinted that Guehi is staying put through January. On the other side, Arne Slot isn’t exactly fueling rumours about Liverpool spending big in the winter window. Slot said last month, “This is our way of working at Liverpool. People think we have unlimited money, but that’s just not true. You insiders know—everyone else just talks about our spending—what we actually bring in to spend.”
SCATHING VERDICT: ANGE POSTECOGLOU CLAIMS TOTTENHAM ARE "NOT A BIG CLUB" TODAY
Ange Postecoglou claims Tottenham "isn't a big club" in a scathing review of their transfer policy following Thomas Frank's sacking.
Ange Postecoglou didn’t mince words about why Tottenham keep falling short. He says the club’s refusal to really compete with the Premier League’s top spenders holds them back, simple as that.
Postecoglou got the boot last June, right after he delivered a Europa League trophy and ended a 17-year wait for silverware. Now his replacement, Thomas Frank, is out too. Tottenham sit 16th in the league, just five points clear of relegation, and they’ve got league leaders Arsenal up next. Not exactly a fun place to be.
After Frank’s sacking, Postecoglou went on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast and pretty much called out Tottenham’s whole approach. “If you look at what they spend and how they structure wages, they’re just not a big club,” he said. He saw it firsthand while trying to sign players; Tottenham just weren’t in the race for the big names.
In his first season, Postecoglou managed to get Tottenham up to fifth. But things went downhill. The next year, even with that Europa League win, they slipped to 17th. He’s convinced the club just doesn’t get what it takes to win, you have to take some risks, and they just won’t.
“I felt like the club was saying, ‘We’re one of the big boys,’ but honestly, they’re not,” he said.
Frank was Tottenham’s fifth full-time manager since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019, even though Pochettino took them to a Champions League final. Fans are frustrated. Tottenham keep missing out on their transfer targets. Frank wanted Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest last summer, but that didn’t happen. Arsenal snatched up Eberechi Eze instead.
Postecoglou, who later had a short, rocky stint at Forest himself, thinks Frank might not have realised what he was getting into. “There’s no guarantee with any manager. They’ve had some world-class people in that job and still no real success. Why is that?” he asked. “What’s the real objective here? Did Thomas even know what he was walking into? Who knows?
136-YEAR CURSE: BURNLEY AVOID MATCHING 1890 RECORD WITH A SENSATIONAL COMEBACK CRYSTAL PALACE 3-2 WIN
Burnley escaped a historic 136-year record! Read how Scott Parker’s men scored three in six minutes to stun Crystal Palace 3-2.
Burnley looked finished. Down 2-0 after just half an hour, with Jørgen Strand Larsen scoring his first goals for Crystal Palace, it pretty much felt like Scott Parker’s team were about to tie their old record: 17 top-flight games without a win, a streak that’s haunted them since 1890. For Burnley fans, the past three months have been brutal. Then, out of nowhere, everything flipped in six wild minutes right before halftime.
Hannibal Mejbri pulled one back. Jaidon Anthony levelled it. Then Jefferson Lerma, of all people, knocked in an own goal. Just like that, Burnley snatched only their second away win since promotion. It keeps their survival hopes alive, barely, but Parker knows they’ll need a few more miracles like this to actually stay up.
For Palace, this was a harsh wake-up call. Their big win over Brighton had just snapped a 12-game winless spell, and for a while, it looked like Oliver Glasner’s side were cruising to only their third home victory of the season, something that would’ve eased their relegation fears. But sloppy defending let Burnley right back in.
Burnley’s luck before kickoff didn’t exactly scream “comeback”. Parker had never won a league game in London as an away manager, and the team bus got stuck in traffic, pushing kick-off back by ten minutes. Palace, for their part, hadn’t lost at home to a promoted side since Sunderland thrashed them 4-0 back in 2017.
When Strand Larsen smashed in a gorgeous ball from Adam Wharton and then dived to head in Lerma’s cross after Kyle Walker messed up, it just seemed like Burnley were doomed.
But then Mejbri gave the visitors a lifeline, beating Dean Henderson with a sharp finish. Suddenly, Burnley were level. There was some debate about whether Lesley Ugochukwu handled the ball before setting up Anthony to score, but nobody could argue with the bottom corner finish – no chance for the keeper.
Then came the third: Bashir Humphreys’ header was stopped by Henderson, but Lerma could only turn the rebound into his own net. Palace trudged off at halftime to boos. Glasner sent them back out early, probably after some choice words in the dressing room.
Even with £35 million man Brennan Johnson on the pitch, Palace couldn’t break down Burnley’s defence. Daichi Kamada missed a decent chance, and Martin Dubravka’s save in stoppage time kept out Ismaïla Sarr. In the end, it was Burnley’s small but loud travelling support celebrating. Somehow, their team had pulled off a rare and badly needed win.