Opinion

Last April, just four days after a 5-2 dusting by Manchester City, Crystal Palace was whipped 5-0 away to Newcastle.

It was a “demolition,” The Guardian declared at the time — a beatdown so thorough that “the description ‘shock and awe’ (did) not really do it justice.”

Speaking to reporters post-match, Eagles manager Oliver Glasner conceded his side hadn’t been good enough to offer “competitive opposition” at St. James’ Park. “It was a game where nothing worked,” he said. “Sometimes you have games and it’s better to throw them into the bin, and this is what we will do.”

It’s exactly what they did.

Three days later, Glasner deployed the exact same defensive unit and made just a single change to his lineup at home to Bournemouth. A scoreless draw stopped the bleeding, and the

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