'Glasner's FA Cup heroes give Tuchel food for thought'

When Crystal Palace languished in the Premier League's bottom three in October without a win in eight games, manager Oliver Glasner gave an insight into the managerial style that has now led them to the brink of history.

Asked, after a loss at Nottingham Forest, to explain how he would react to a wretched start that had brought Palace only three points, the Austrian said: "It's time for hugging players, not kicking them."

And there was plenty of hugging at Wembley after Glasner's Palace moved to within one game of the club's first major honour with an outstanding FA Cup semi-final win over Aston Villa.

The 50-year-old's refusal to embrace tough love and simply embrace was rewarded with a 3-0 victory inspired by the brilliance of Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr, but which was also a pitch-perfect team display from back to front.

And, amid it all, four key elements of Palace's landmark victory - Eze, goalkeeper Dean Henderson, Marc Guehi, and Adam Wharton - all pushed their claims to England head coach Thomas Tuchel in brilliant fashion.

As the Palace fans belted out their Dave Clark Five anthem 'Glad All Over' at one end of Wembley draped in red and blue, this high-class performance was not simply justification for Glasner's methods, but also the faith shown in him by chairman Steve Parish and the club's hierarchy.

The barren run in the early weeks of this campaign - their worst start in the Premier League since 1992-93 - came after Palace ended last season with 19 points from their last 21.

It also came, however, after they lost brilliant forward Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and key defender Joachim Andersen to Fulham.

Parish backed Glasner, telling BBC Sport after the semi-final: "I never had any doubt - watching him work, the positivity and the way he is. He loves football, always believes we can win, and he instils that in his players.

"This was superb. I thought they were excellent. All credit to the manager and the players. You can see what it means to them.

"I thought this was a real celebration of fans. Two clubs who haven't won a lot of honours in recent times. For us never. A great occasion at Wembley and we stand at the edge of doing something we've never done before."

The crowning moment of Glasner's career to date has been winning the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022 - claiming the first major honour in this proud, passionate south London club's history may even top that.

It was done under the gaze of three of his predecessors in Roy Hodgson, Alan Smith and Steve Coppell, the latter taking Palace to the 1990 FA Cup final, where they lost after a replay against Manchester United.

The headlines will be grabbed, understandably, by the spectacular feats of Eze, who started the ball rolling after 31 minutes with a stunning rising finish past Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and Sarr.

Sarr drilled in the second just before the hour, then ran clear deep into stoppage time to score, wrapping up a result that sends a clear warning to potential FA Cup final opponents Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.

This, however, does not do justice to the excellence running right through Palace's team which will surely give England coach Tuchel food for thought.

Everton's Jordan Pickford is rightly established as England's first choice, but Palace goalkeeper Henderson gave the sort of mature display on the big stage that confirms he will provide the sternest competition.

Tuchel is known to admire Henderson, and he was there when Palace needed him at Wembley. He saved well from Ezri Konsa's header in the first half, but two stops just after the break from John McGinn and Lucas Digne were crucial, halting any momentum Villa hoped to gather.

Crystal Palace captain Guehi, arguably England's best player at Euro 2024, was surprisingly excluded in favour of Newcastle United's Dan Burn for Tuchel's first game against Albania at Wembley, but here he again demonstrated leadership and high quality on the few occasions Villa exerted real pressure.

Eze's impact earned him the man-of-the-match award, but he will surely have faced strong competition from the brilliant Wharton, who strode through midfield in style, a potent mixture of composure, creation and that priceless ability to win possession then use it well.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney is a firm admirer, telling BBC Sport: "Attacking players get a lot of the credit, but Adam Wharton was outstanding. His commitment and winning the ball back - I thought he was the best player on the pitch."

This follows rich praise delivered by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who described him as "an excellent holding midfielder".

Wharton's somewhat strolling style, socks at half mast, belies a fierce competitive instinct. He was not included in Tuchel's first full England squad as Palace nursed him back after groin surgery, but the German knows what a talent he has at his disposal.

He was included in England's under-21s squad, but trained alongside the senior players at St George's Park.

Wharton, it was, who robbed Villa's Youri Tielemans to start the move that ended with Sarr scoring Palace's crucial second. It was one of five successful tackles he made, the most of any player in the semi-final.

And so Palace go on to their third FA Cup final at Wembley, led by the charismatic Glasner and his eminently watchable team.

Can he now succeed where Coppell and Alan Pardew failed and write his name into the Crystal Palace history books?