The previously unwavering 3-4-2-1 formation Oliver Glasner uses at Crystal Palace is beginning to wobble.
Just two wins from the last 16 games in all competitions suggests opponents are starting to figure out how to play against this particular shape.
The Austrian admitted to testing a four-man defence in training at Copers Cope ahead of the first leg against Zrinjski Mostar, but claimed it did not work.
Now, Igor Stimac – manager of Zrinjski Mostar – has told the world all about a “huge problem” he has noticed Crystal Palace are suffering with under Oliver Glasner.
Igor Stimac “surprised” by how poor Crystal Palace have been in terms of “defensive transition”
Coaches are typically quite reserved about what they noticed from opponents during analysis sessions, but Stimac went into great detail about Crystal Palace’s shortcomings.
The Croatian said: “We analysed Crystal Palace in a great way, and we noticed that they are having quite a huge problem with defensive transition. When you press so high, you leave spaces to be hammered if you face teams who have got enough speed in the front lines.
“Everybody is more or less scoring similar goals against Palace. I am surprised. When we were building on our strategy and everything else, how to play against Palace, we noticed things. I just hope we’ll have enough concentration tomorrow and discipline and stay focused.”
The onus is now on Glasner to ensure Stimac does not capitalise on this issue.
As we saw in the recent 3-2 defeat against Burnley, Crystal Palace definitely have a problem when it comes to defending, with opponents easily getting in behind time and time again whenever the Eagles push even slightly forward.
That is largely down to a lack of speed in key areas, with Jefferson Lerma not as fast as Marc Guehi – who Ruben Kluivert could have replaced – nor is the Colombia international a natural defender like the England international.
Will Hughes is another who often gets caught out in transitions between attack and defence due to his lack of pace, while some sloppy passing from the likes of Adam Wharton – who gave Zrinjski Mostar the chance to equalise in Bosnia with a mistake – also puts teammates under pressure.
The Yeremy Pino moment which proves Crystal Palace need to be more careful
The 3-4-2-1 system is a daring way to play football, with full-backs pushed high up the flanks leaving the three central defenders vulnerable. It is when quick turnovers of possession occur that Crystal Palace experience the most problems.
Take the passage of play that saw Wolves awarded a penalty last time out as an example. Yeremy Pino lost the ball, and immediately, there was a gap in the backline for Tolu Arokodare to charge through – the Wolves No.14 was likely to score before Wharton hauled him down.
Crystal Palace set up with the expectation to not lose possession at surprise moments, as Pino did against Wolves and Wharton in Mostar.
If Glasner can cut these mistakes out and ensure he has pace in his backline too, then dealing with defensive transitions should not be as much of a problem as it has been in recent weeks.