Pierre Sage’s failure to fix defensive flaws leaves Crystal Palace seeking new solution
A losing run, set-piece struggles and a call for help led Steve Parish to cut ties with the manager after five months
The moment that summed up Crystal Palace’s season under Pierre Sage came five minutes before half-time at Selhurst Park on Sunday. After Palace had gone close to taking the lead on numerous occasions against Liverpool, the Frenchman must have feared the worst when Alexis Mac Allister headed in from a soft free-kick conceded by Jefferson Lerma. The TV cameras immediately panned to Steve Parish in the stands. After the Palace chair removed his hands from in front of his eyes, his expression said everything you needed to know. The only surprise was that Sage had to wait until Thursday before his inevitable fate was confirmed.
Not since the start of the 2017-18 season, after Frank de Boer was appointed as Palace’s first permanent foreign manager and sacked after five matches, have the club found themselves bottom. In their record 14th consecutive season in the top flight, and with preliminary work having started on building a new £200m main stand despite major doubts over funding, Palace cannot afford to be relegated.
