Glasner not dwelling on officiating as Eze denied in Palace defeat

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner is not dwelling on the refereeing error that cost Eberechi Eze a goal in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Brentford.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa fired Brentford to a matchday-one victory at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Palace briefly levelling in the second half via an Ethan Pinnock own goal.

The Eagles thought they had taken a 26th-minute lead when Eze produced a brilliant effort from a wide free-kick, his ambitious shot clipping the near post and beating Mark Flekken.

However, referee Samuel Barrott blew for a foul from Will Hughes on Nathan Collins, and the VAR was unable to intervene due to the whistle sounding before Eze’s shot crossed the line.

After the game, Glasner revealed Barrott had admitted his error but said he was not irritated by that conversation, telling Sky Sports: “It shows he is a great man, a good guy.

“It is over. It is what it is. We talk about what we can influence. In many situations we could have done better.

“We are not in the rhythm we should be, that’s no excuse, it is the situation. The team did okay but it was not the best performance we could show.”

Today was the 12th different game that BOTH Yoane Wissa & Bryan Mbuemo have scored for Brentford in a Premier League match.
———————————–
3 Oct 2021 v West Ham
3 Sep 2022 v Leeds
5 Nov 2022 v N Forest
2 Jan 2023 v Liverpool
14 May 2023 v West Ham
20 May 2023… pic.twitter.com/wHEjsjPbx8

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 18, 2024

Palace’s defeat came after they finished the 2023-24 season on a seven-match unbeaten run (six wins, one draw), with their last Premier League loss coming by a 4-2 scoreline against Manchester City in April.

They were far from the fluent best they have shown since Glasner’s appointment on Sunday, with their 14 shots only tallying 1.07 expected goals (xG), compared to Brentford’s 1.39 xG from nine attempts.

Eze took seven of Palace’s shots and grew increasingly frustrated as the game went on, while fellow England international Marc Guehi produced a shaky performance amid reports linking him with Newcastle United.

Glasner has no concerns over Guehi’s commitment, though, saying of the centre-back: “Everyone could see he was completely focused on Crystal Palace and the game today.

“The last two days, we didn’t speak about transfers because we focused on the game, so there’s no news.”

Brentford 2-1 Crystal Palace

No Ivan Toney, no problem. Brentford start 2024-25 with a good London derby win over Crystal Palace, with Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo scoring the goals.#BRECRY pic.twitter.com/nzhWHgvGwY

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 18, 2024