Fans buying Glasner's flexibility

Sunday was a pivotal day for the entirety of Crystal Palace Football Club. In South London, Oliver Glasner delivered his most complete performance as coach, while down in Sussex, Laura Kaminski all but secured a league title and promotion to the WSL with a victory against Lewes.

Successful recruitment is the backbone of any organisation, and the club has made correct calls with both their leading figures.

Glasner, in press conferences, has been quick to emphasise the team over the individual, and the performance on Sunday reflected that.

Of course, the attacking trio of Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta deserve the plaudits for their goalscoring and threat. Yet, it was built on a combative performance behind them.

Palace have been one of the final few bastions of a 'British' style of football in the Premier League. It's ironic, given Roy Hodgson's influence on and experience across the continent, but the team almost always lent on a back-four, with a classical interpretation of a centre half.

Injuries have enforced changes at the back. Having seen a central midfielder and a full-back fill in either side of Joachim Andersen in recent games, it redefines what now constitutes a Palace central defender.

Both Chris Richards and Nathaniel Clyne, operating as the wide centre-backs in a three, found themselves able to press into the opposition half aggressively, Richards' halfway line intervention directly leading to the second goal.

In turn, in possession, the underlapping of Clyne from that unfamiliar role, combined with the overlapping Daniel Munoz, turned a potential weakness into a strength down the right flank.

If Palace's head coach prefers to view the bigger picture with his squad, it's clear the fans are quickly learning and buying into the flexibility and nuances of his tactical system.

Alex Pewter, FYP podcast