Trust seems to be self -evident for Oliver Glasner – in his own capacity and in his team. He has changed the mentality in Crystal Palace during his 15 months as their manager and there is a feeling that they are now going into a game with a good chance of winning it.
So much so that, following a 5-2 loss against Manchester City last month, Glasner offered words of caution to opposite number Pep Guardiola: “I told Pep after the game that he can't play this system (again), because we will beat it,” he said, when asked whether he felt his team could avenge That heavy defeat should the teams, semi-finalists at the time, meet again in the fa Cup final-as they will on Saturday.
Before the Wembley Pronunter, Palace had to navigate the Premier League match on Sunday in Tottenham Hotspur. The target, has repeated Glasner, has been to obtain the highest Premier League points in total in the history of the club. Their 2-0 win in North London brings them level with Palace's best hunger in the competition, 49, with two more games.
They should have won more fully – two more goals were not allowed – because they in particular dominated the left flank of Tottenham. The rapid transitional game caused by pressing the attacking players, who has become a staple under Glasner, was devastating.
It was similar to how they played against City, a match in which they went 2-0, with in particular Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz who combined the right side. The first of the goals that were excluded at Spurs was almost a copy of the opener of Ebereechi Eze at Etihad. Several more similar opportunities followed in the same spirit.
Palace will be full of faith in the FA Cup final on Saturday, and Glasner will feel that his plan is in good condition.
The system that he mentioned in the Etihad Stadium last month referred to a recent tweak in the form of the city. Earlier, one full-back would stop in midfield, but Late Guardiola preferred more traditional, high-wide full-backs, with Nico O'Reilly and Matheus Nunes often the first-choice channel runners.
Without the wounded Erling Haaland (which came back after two months after two months for Saturday's aimless draw in Southampton), that has created a box-like midfield-Mateo Kovacic and another deeper midfielder in the base, and two creative attacking players at the top:
Without the ball, the city collapses into something of a 4-2-4, a form palace that was exploited in the Etihad with the width of their wingbacks.
After a consistent enchantment of possession, both Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell push through here, so Palace quickly converts the five-man defensive structure of Palace into a 3-2-5 with the ball.
Center-back Maxence Lacroix opens the game with a ball to his Colombian colleague along the right:
O'Reilly shuffles over to close the ball, but Josko Gvardiol and midfielder Nico Gonzalez are not fast enough to pick up Sarr, who shoots at the back and receives the first time from Munoz:
Suddenly the city is exposed and SARR sarns the ball through for Eze to score.
Just over three minutes later, a similar palace unfolds.
It is not as neatly constructed as the first – Mitchell's Crossfield Ball is located behind Munoz, and the runners of Palace are not so prepared to position themselves goals, but the approach is known.
View O'Reilly in the clip below. He sees the in-to-out run that caught him on the goal and withdrawing, before he takes a fraction of a second to perform and put Munoz under pressure. That moment of uncertainty leaves room for SARR to come across, although his cross is blocked by gvardiol:
Fast switches of playing continued to cause damage during a slick first half display from Palace.
In this following example, Adam Wharton launches a pass out on the right after a sharp turn in midfield. It shows how continuously available Munoz de Flank with Palace is in permanent possession, and how quickly they are able to reach five players who fall on the four rear line of the city. Tottenham also found it difficult to deal with the energy and incision of Munoz on that wing on Sunday.
Sarr's Run is followed here, but now it is Daichi Kamada who flows from midfield to receive that ball along the line. He withdraws for SARR, who should do better from close by:
Palace was undone by moments of attacking quality as the game wore, but there were signs that the Glasner's defense system is also better suited than others to resist the new approach to the city.
While the 4-4-2 Form of Nottingham Forest was stretched across the field in the semi-final of the FA Cup, with a lot of confusion between the wide midfielder and the full-back about whom the flanks should cover, Palace is better able to match the width of the city with their back five, while they have numbers in the middle to competitive.
Here in the opening phase of last month's meeting in Manchester, the front three scary to stop passing through the middle and Wharton and Kamada Patrol, with the center backs ready to jump forward if necessary.
Passing to the full-back is a clear trigger for Palace's wingbacks to step forward and switch on, which we can see if City moves it to the left. Wharton is already looking over to ensure that Mitchell is ready to perform while Ruben Dias opens his body …
… before he forces Racet and Rico Lewis back.
Being willing to step forward so far, requires athletics and dedication, and the rest of the urgent unity is expected to correspond to that, locked on man-for-man and not allow the city to escape.
But such courage is often what is needed to disturb the feathers of a very technical, positional side.
The movement and quality of the city can still cause problems, and Palace was susceptible to it pulled out of their form when the midfielders of the opposition fell deep.
Below Kamada believes that he should perform to put pressure on Kovacic, which means that wide center-back Jefferson Lerma Kevin De Bruyne is picking up. That releases James McATee to run in Behind, where his final shot is saved by Dean Henderson.
Another 90 minutes (and perhaps more) against City in Wembley will be an important test of positional discipline and defensive concentration, but the system of Palace, in contrast to a back four, is of course suitable for covering their newly found width with retention of a compact midfield.
Guardiola is never anyone who rests on his tactical laurels, and the return of Haaland could lead to a new tweak in the light of Glasner's comments. City returned to a more controlled approach against Southampton, but struggled to break down one of the worst teams in the Premier League history, in point conditions, and had to settle for a scoreless draw. Flying full-backs can be on the menu again the weekend.
Momentum is crucial, especially with the Palace system, which is based on trigger -pressing and transition fluidity. “The best preparation is a good performance here,” said Glasner after the game in Tottenham.
However, the palace manager will be encouraged by the way his team has lately played after the difficult defeats of City and Newcastle United (5-0) in mid-April. Yet there had been encouraging signs in the first half hour in Manchester. That has now been followed with an extensive victory against Spurs, in which they used the same tactics.
Conviction is important, but last month a backup of those words and Glasner will be seen as more humility. Proof that his self -confidence was well placed by winning the FA Cup and he will be seen as the most successful manager of the club ever.
The stage is set – Palace is in good mood after yesterday's victory and now they have the chance to darken everything they have done before.
But Glasner has warned that if they want to win the cup, they need a better performance than in Tottenham.
Trust has not given way to arrogance.
(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty images)