Oliver Glasner insisted Crystal Palace “deserved a point” against Aston Villa after a tense 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening, disagreeing with Unai Emery’s post-match view that his side should have won.
Villa finished the stronger side and went closest late on, but Palace battled through long spells without the ball to claim a clean sheet and a share of the points.
What happened at Selhurst Park
Aston Villa controlled large parts of the first half without carving out a clear breakthrough, before the game opened up after the break.
Palace improved in the second half and carried more threat, but Villa’s late push nearly settled it. Ollie Watkins hit the post, Morgan Rogers fired just over, and Youri Tielemans was involved in a penalty appeal that Emery felt should have at least been checked by VAR.
Glasner: “Everybody could see” the draw was fair
Glasner praised his players’ response after a shaky start and argued the match was balanced overall.
“I’m very proud and huge credit must go to the players because they were playing the most in-form team in the Premier League. Everybody could see that in the first half we were not full of confidence and then in the second half we really got back into the game and had opportunities to win. Villa also created chances and the game could have gone either way, that’s why I feel the draw is a fair result.” — Oliver Glasner, speaking after the match
Emery felt Villa “were close to winning”
Emery, while pointing to Villa’s difficult record away at Palace, believed his side did enough across the 90 minutes to take all three points — especially given their control before the interval and their late chances.
He said: “To get a point here is fantastic. We could have won more than we lost… We controlled the first half very good… We lost 15 or 20 minutes in the second half… But we finished dominating and creating chances. We were close to winning.”
Key insights
- Palace’s improved second half underpinned Glasner’s claim that the draw was fair.
- Villa’s best chances came late, but they lacked the final touch to win it.
- The penalty appeal involving Tielemans will remain a frustration for Emery.
- Palace’s defensive structure held firm when Villa piled on pressure.
Why this result matters
For Villa, it was a missed opportunity to turn late pressure into a decisive moment, with the dropped points made more frustrating by results elsewhere. For Palace, the performance — particularly the resilience in the closing stages — will feel like a small step forward, even if they spent long periods defending.
What’s next
Both sides now turn focus to their next Premier League fixtures, with Villa needing to quickly convert strong performances into wins to keep momentum at the top end of the table. Palace, meanwhile, will look to build on the clean sheet and the improved second-half showing as they chase consistency.
Was Glasner right that a draw was “fair”, or did Villa do enough to win it — and should VAR have intervened on the late Tielemans appeal?
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