Pierre Sage believes Crystal Palace’s inability to keep the ball after Jean-Philippe Mateta’s early dismissal left them facing an uphill battle in their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
The Palace manager accepted that Mateta’s challenge warranted a red card, saying the forward did not see the Tottenham player before making the tackle. Sage felt the decision placed his side in a difficult position and forced them to spend long periods defending against an opponent who controlled possession effectively.
Palace remained compact during the opening half, but their task became even harder after Tottenham scored from a set piece. Sage revealed that his half-time plan was to stay in the contest until around the 75-minute mark before using substitutions to try to change the match. However, Tottenham scored again in the 74th minute, just before Palace could make those changes.
Sage also pointed to Palace’s struggles in transition. His players were often unable to retain possession after winning the ball back, allowing Tottenham to regain control. Although he praised the team’s defensive effort, he made clear that he wanted Palace to combine that organisation with a greater threat in possession.
The manager said the players were frustrated after putting significant effort into the match without earning the result they wanted. Palace had a chance to move level before Tottenham’s second goal but were unable to take it, while Dean Henderson was required to make several important saves later in the game.
Sage admitted he was unhappy with Palace’s position in the table but said the response had to come through work on the training pitch. He contrasted the performance with Wednesday’s 1-0 victory at Fulham, where Palace had also chosen to defend deeper, and insisted the team must improve the moments when it switches from defending to attacking.
