The 20-year-old made just his second Palace start since joining from Millwall in January as the Eagles edged past his former side on penalties in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
But on a night when Esse hoped to prove himself, he was hooked at half-time, with Glasner infuriated by his decision-making.
Esse felt the full wrath of Glasner just before half-time, when a misplaced pass on the edge of the Millwall box saw the Austrian rip off his jacket and throw it to the ground in frustration.
It was not the first time Glasner had reacted sharply towards Esse. On the final day of last season at Anfield, he brought the forward on for the final 10 minutes only to withdraw him in stoppage time, once more unimpressed with his choices on the ball.
Following the cup win over South London rivals Millwall, Glasner said: “If you sub somebody at half time, then you are not pleased with his performance. You have to perform, it’s simple.
“Football is not so difficult. When you get your chance, you must perform and show that you can help the team win a game.
“If I have a feeling that a player can help the team win a game, he will get many minutes. If I have the feeling a player does not help the team win a game, he does not get many minutes.
“It’s up to him. He’s a nice guy and I like him as a person, but I’m no priest. I’m not getting paid to be a nice person, I’m getting paid to win games. It’s up to the player to improve.
“He reacted well. I don’t want to talk about Romain the whole time, I will talk to him in person. It’s up to him to show, let’s see.”
In the build-up to the tie, Glasner was pressed on whether Esse was finding life tough at Palace given his limited minutes.
“I’ve had many conversations with him, but I don't think it's a hard situation. If you are working in a hospital, you’re a nurse and have an accident with injured people and have to decide about life or death, then this is a hard situation.
“Playing football in the Premier League, getting a few pounds a week, is a great situation.
“Then it’s showing up, learning, improving, showing. If you do this, you play regularly and are in a fantastic situation.
"I don’t want to think anyone in our squad has a hard life because then they don’t know what a hard life is. This is a great life.
“Romain Esse is living his childhood dream; now it’s up to him to make the best of it. He gets all the support from everyone. But it’s up to him, we can’t do anything, the players have to do it.”