Crystal Palace Fight Fatigue To Force Penalties Against Arsenal In EFL Cup

Arsenal moved into the EFL Cup semi-finals after defeating Crystal Palace on penalties at Emirates Stadium, following a 1-1 draw in which Marc Guehi forced a shoot-out, and Oliver Glasner praised Palace for pushing through fatigue during a demanding run of fixtures featuring three matches in six days.

The victory sets up a two-legged semi-final between Arsenal and Chelsea, with a place at Wembley on offer against either Newcastle United or Manchester City, while Palace exit after matching Arsenal for long spells despite heavy pressure, especially before half-time, and despite starting with replacement goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Arsenal dominated the attacking numbers across the 90 minutes, recording 25 shots and 2.76 expected goals, compared with

Crystal Palace’s eight efforts and 0.81 xG, and Kepa Arrizabalaga completed the match without making a save, while Benitez produced seven stops to keep Palace in contention before the late equaliser.

The Gunners unleashed 12 attempts during the first half, when Crystal Palace managed only two efforts, and that pressure led to Maxence Lacroix turning the ball into his own net, yet Palace stayed in the contest and levelled when Guehi scored five minutes into second-half stoppage time to drag the tie to penalties.

Mikel Arteta acknowledged Arsenal had to work hard for progress against a Palace side carrying recent trophy experience, as Crystal Palace had lifted both the FA Cup and Community Shield during the last year, and Arteta highlighted the difficulty of creating openings against Glasner’s compact structure despite the final attacking figures.

Arteta told Sky Sports: "We're very happy to be in the semi-final," before stressing how Arsenal controlled much of the play. "We played against a team where it is very hard to generate chances. We generated a lot and should have had more goals. When you don't close the game out, this can always happen, but the players were so composed with the penalties. In the second half, they were more aggressive but overall, it's another victory, and I'm very happy. "

EFL Cup quarter-final Arsenal vs Crystal Palace penalties assessed by Glasner

Glasner, speaking after the shoot-out defeat, focused on Crystal Palace’s strong reaction after the break, arguing that the second-half display showed the team’s character under fatigue, and Glasner underlined that playing at the Emirates is never straightforward, especially when the schedule gives limited recovery time between games.

Asked by Sky Sports if the performance made Glasner proud, the Crystal Palace head coach replied: "Second half, yes. We had a really great goalkeeper, who kept us in the game, but in the second half I saw a different team. Coming back here was really great. I don't know if I've seen a shoot-out where all the penalties were taken so well. We have to build on the second-half performance. Everyone is telling us we have fatigue but if you can switch and play like we did in the second half at the Emirates, it's very positive. We were braver and much more aggressive. We played more in their half. It was much better than the first half, when we were too passive. It is not easy to play here. "

Glasner’s remarks highlighted how Crystal Palace grew bolder after half-time, pressing higher and spending more time in Arsenal’s half while still relying on Benitez’s earlier saves, and although the shoot-out ended Arsenal’s run in the competition, the second-half display offered Palace encouragement ahead of their next domestic fixtures.