“Opportunities missed. Board inept. Fans disrespected. Glasner finished,” read the banner unfurled by the Crystal Palace supporters behind Dean Henderson’s goal after barely 30 seconds of their meeting with the bottom side, Wolves. If that was meant to inspire a first league victory here since 1 November, then somehow it had the desired effect.
Having huffed and puffed against a side playing with 10 men for half an hour after Ladislav Krejci was shown a second yellow card for stupidly kicking the ball away, it looked like being another miserable day for Oliver Glasner. But when Evann Guessand’s winner went in during the final minute of normal time, there was an explosion of joy as some of the frustrations that have built up after a disastrous start to 2026 briefly melted away.
While it remains doubtful whether Glasner can remain in his post much longer given the friction that still exists in south London, at least a second win in their past 16 games in all competitions will ease their relegation fears.
As well as questioning his own capabilities last week, the Palace manager accused some of his players of “looking at where they will play next year rather than where they are playing right now”, and told fans to “stay humble” – a statement that did not go down well in this part of south London and was mocked even when they went ahead: “1-0 to the humble boys.”
The Austrian was all smiles before kick‑off and received a polite reception from supporters in the main stand. But the message from the influential Holmesdale Fanatics group – who were responsible for the derogatory banner aimed towards the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, earlier this season that led to Palace being fined £50,000 by the Football Association last week – showed the depth of animosity towards the manager who won the club’s first major trophy less than 300 days ago.
“I think it’s the way the fans can express their opinion because otherwise they can’t tell me,” Glasner said about the banner. “It’s completely fine. But I will always say what I think, what I believe. I never disrespected anyone. This is where I disagree.”
Asked whether he regretted that his relationship with the supporters seems broken and beyond repair, Glasner said: “No.”
For the Wolves manager, Rob Edwards, there was plenty to be proud of despite his side failing to secure the point they need to match Derby’s record low Premier League tally from 2008, after Tolu Arokodare’s penalty was saved by Henderson in the first half. That will surely be put to bed soon given the improvements they have made since his appointment.
“It was another big stride forward in terms of performance,” Edwards said. “We are disappointed not to have won the game.”
Wolves arrived in confident mood after their stirring midweek comeback against Arsenal and finally recording a first away win of the campaign in the FA Cup against Grimsby. But Yerson Mosquera almost gifted Palace an early lead when he badly misjudged a header back to José Sá, although Yéremy Pino’s attempted lob let him off the hook as it sailed well over.
Jørgen Strand Larsen was targeted by taunts from the away section almost immediately following his £48m move in the transfer window. His replacement up front for Wolves, Arokodare, caused a Palace defence missing an injured Maxence Lacroix several problems with his physical approach, even if the visitors could not take any of the chances that fell their way.
Mosquera should have done better at the far post after Arokodare won the initial header from a corner before heading over from another set-piece after Henderson had saved a free‑kick from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. At the other end, Pino scuffed his shot on to the post after a clever short corner routine with Will Hughes.
Wolves and Sunderland have issued statements condemning online racist abuse aimed at their players. After Sunday's match against Crystal Palace, Wolves issued a statement condemning racist abuse aimed at their Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare on social media following the player's penalty miss.
"Wolves are disgusted by numerous instances of racist abuse, from multiple perpetrators," the statement read. "There is no place for racism – in football, online, or anywhere in society. We condemn this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms.
"Tolu has our full and unwavering support. No player should be subjected to such hatred simply for doing their job. We stand firmly alongside him, and alongside all footballers who are forced to endure this abuse from anonymous accounts acting with apparent impunity." The club added that it has "reported the posts to the relevant platforms".
Arokodare later posted on X: “It’s still unbelievable to me that we’re playing in a time where people have so much freedom to communicate such racism without any consequences.”
Sunderland said they were working with authorities to identify those responsible for “vile online racist abuse” directed at Romaine Mundle. "These individuals do not represent Sunderland AFC, our values, or our community - and they are not welcome on Wearside," their statement continued.
Kick It Out summed up "an appalling weekend" of abuse, following similar posts that had been aimed at Wesley Fofana and Hannibal Mejbri. On X, it posted: "Action must follow. Players cannot be expected to tolerate this behaviour, and nor should anyone else. Guardian sport
Wolves felt Hughes should have been shown a second yellow for a late challenge on Mosquera after picking up an early booking. The referee, Tom Kirk, had no option but to award Wolves a penalty when Adam Wharton chopped down Mateus Mané five minutes before the break, although the England midfielder also escaped a red card. To the relief of Palace’s fans and Glasner, Henderson was easily able to gather Arokodare’s weak spot-kick into his arms.
Palace continued to look shaky at the back and a mix-up between Henderson and Chris Richards almost allowed Adam Armstrong to chip the ball into an empty net. But one of the reasons Wolves find themselves in this predicament has been a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, and Krejci provided a perfect example. “I can’t defend him for that – in that moment you have to stay cool because the crowd was on the edge and they were looking nervy,” Edwards said.
It was the prompt for Glasner to abandon his favoured three at the back and go for broke. The tension was growing as Palace continued to lack ideas. That all changed when Guessand latched on to Tyrick Mitchell’s cross to seal a priceless win for Palace and their fractured fanbase.
