Crystal Palace are 12th in the Premier League with 36 points after 27 matches, having won, drawn, and lost nine matches each.
With a balanced performance and statistics, Oliver Glasner‘s side have scored 35 goals and conceded 33.
While these figures may seem average at first glance, a closer look reveals that 12 of their 35 goals came from set pieces, accounting for nearly 35% of their total goals.
Interestingly, they are the second-highest scorers from set pieces in the Premier League this season, with 12 goals, just one goal behind Aston Villa, who have scored 13.
We all know Aston Villa’s proficiency with set pieces and Unai Emery‘s reliance on Austin MacPhee, the set-piece coach.
However, it may surprise you that Palace rank just behind them, having scored more goals from set pieces than prominent teams like Arsenal.
You might argue that this could be a matter of luck, but that is not the case.
The goals alone do not place them among the best teams for set pieces in the Premier League this season; other factors also contribute.
For instance, they have scored 12 goals from 120 set-piece shots, the highest in the league.
This has resulted in expected goals (xG) of 11.41 from set pieces, making them the third-best team in the league after Arsenal (12.96) and Aston Villa (12.55).
More importantly, there is something that distinguishes them on the field, which translates these statistics into actual performance.
Across his decade in management, Glasner has worked wonders and helped develop promising attacking stars like Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jens Petter Hauge, and Daichi Kamada.
Rather than splurging heavily, he can develop his own players and transform them into deadly scorers who can make a difference from open play or dead-ball situations.
This tactical analysis will delve into Oliver Glasner tactics at Crystal Palace.
Coming Behind The Zonal Defenders
Their first repeated idea is to start with two or more players behind the zonal line, usually Jean-Philippe Mateta as one of them.
As shown below, Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. defends with four zonal defenders (green), four-man markers, a short-option defender (navy blue), and a player on the edge of the box for the rebound (pink).
In the photo below, two yellow attackers start between the goalkeeper and the zonal line, moving from the zonal line blind side.
Mateta, who starts near the goalkeeper, moves to the first zonal defender, while the second one (Maxence Lacroix) moves to the second zonal defender.
A runner (blue) moves in the area ahead of the near post in front of them, but why?
As shown below, Mateta wants to give the first zonal defender two choices: either go forward to defend the area ahead of the near post against the blue-attacker run or still stand worried about him.
Ultimately, he decides to go forward, chasing the blue attacker who might have the first touch before his man marker.
So it is clear now that the four-player zonal line becomes linear while two attackers (yellow) overload the near post coming from the defenders’ back, having an advantage over them.
As shown below, the plan works.
Mateta can flick on the ball while three other players frame the goal in the six-yard area to be ready in case he cannot shoot it directly, and that’s what happened.
They showed they could use the same concept differently in the same match.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 4, 2025
As shown below, the first yellow attacker exploits that he comes from the zonal defenders’ blind side to suddenly come up and block the second zonal defender, preventing him from going to defend the flick-on against the blue attacker (the targeted player this time).
In contrast, the second yellow player moves behind him.
At the same time, the blue attacker goes to take the first touch while the green one goes to the far post to frame the ball and be ready to get the flicked pass.
As shown below, the block is very clear, and the blue attacker has free access to the targeted area.
The second yellow attacker moves to take the attention of the first zonal defender, making him worried about him trying to fix him so that he does not move forward to the targeted area.
The solution is increasing the zonal defenders on the near post, which Fulham did.
As shown below, Fulham defend with seven zonal defenders (red), two man markers (near the penalty spot) and one player for the second ball and ready to defend short corners.
You can notice that Fulham crowd the near post and may think they are safe by doing that, but Crystal Palace have no problem making them four players behind the zonal line.
As shown below, the first two attackers, of these four behind the zonal line, block the first two zonal defenders in the goalmouth from their backs while Matetaa blocks the goalkeeper.
The first one has a double role: it pushes the first zonal defender and then returns to the shown gap, with the fourth one putting the third zonal defender in a difficult choice: go forward to fill the gap or step back because of the fourth attacker’s movement.
At the same time, a runner from the two goes to frame the goal, ready to get any flick-ons (just in case).
As shown below, the third zonal defender is in a 2v1 situation from different directions.
Some teams tried to find solutions to this dilemma, and Arsenal was one of them.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 4, 2025
As shown below, they decide to use just three zonal defenders (green), all of them on the near post and the middle, leaving the far-post mission for David Raya.
That marks the attackers behind the zonal line, and they also ask their man-markers to prevent them from making these usual runs to the near post or blocking any zonal defender.
In the end, the first zonal defender can easily clear the ball because no attacker could block him, as shown below.
Crystal Palace Short Corners
They also have some good variations in short corners.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 4, 2025
We are still in their game against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
They implemented another idea, showing their intelligence in simultaneously having different ideas.
As shown below, they attack with six players inside the box with two players on the edge of the box (pink) and a layer at the back while Brighton has a short-option defender (green) and a rebound defender (pink).
They aren’t starting with a short-option attacker, but the left edge-of-the-box player moves quickly toward the taker to receive the ball in such a near position while the second rebound player goes to the far post on the zonal defenders’ blind side.
As shown below, they keep using the same two players in the same positions, but one goes to block the last zonal defender to make the targeted area behind him free for the second rebound player, while the other blocks the second zonal defender
As shown below, the two blocks are clear.
Blocking a zonal defender on the near post allows any coming runner to take the first touch before him if the ball is underhit.
They are forced to flick the ball to the far post rather than play it directly to the far post.
They also become more dangerous if the opponent exaggerates in defending the box.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 4, 2025
The left rebound player goes quickly to receive the cross inside the box, as shown below.
In the photo below, the same block happens to the last zonal defender (blue), but the pink player didn’t go for it, and we can see the blue player blaming him in the video.
Crystal Palace Free-Kicks
They aren’t only good at corners but also at free kicks.
They had many good ideas, but the most attractive one was from their match against Doncaster in the FA Cup.
As shown below, three attackers stand beside each other, pretending to form a wall that blocks the goalkeeper’s sight.
You can see Mateta in the middle of it.
Once the taker starts to move, the two lateral players turn to block the two defenders next to each other, freeing Mateta (yellow), who should receive the ball and shoot it directly.
As shown below, the plan works.
He receives the ball easily, turns around, and shoots it to end with a goal from a rebound.
Conclusion
In this analysis, we have highlighted what distinguishes Crystal Palace in set pieces, making them one of the best teams in the Premier League.
In this set-piece analysis, we explained how they exploit player positioning behind the zonal line to target the near post while highlighting some of their unique ideas in short corners and free kicks.
According to The Athletic, Dean Kiely was previously responsible for them alongside his role as goalkeeping coach, but they now have two dedicated coaches focused on set pieces.
Assistant managers Michael Angerschmid and Ronald Brunmayr have that responsibility.
Still, Glasner was keen to stress that he welcomes all views, explaining that Kiely had some input and that everybody could have an opinion.
