Maxence Lacroix believes the team failed to play to its potential and missed crucial opportunities.

Maxence Lacroix stated that Crystal Palace showed promise at times during the match, but failed to maintain their best form in Wednesday's defeat to Manchester City. For much of the first half, the team successfully limited the Premier League title contenders' performance, with Dean Henderson facing little threat in the first 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace also created several counter-attacking opportunities on the other end, nearly breaching Manchester City's goal.  

But with quick goals from Antoine Semenho and Omar Malmush, the three points seemed destined to remain in Manchester. Nevertheless, Crystal Palace still managed to create threats in the second half by capitalizing on defensive errors. After the match, Maxence Lacroix said, "It was a very tough game; when you concede three goals, the game always becomes very difficult."  

“We also showed some positive aspects, but I don’t think the team played at its best today. Against opponents of this caliber, you have to do better every day. I think we did well in terms of intensity, but we failed to capitalize on our opportunities at crucial moments. We also created some unnecessary space for the opponent. As I said, against strong teams, any mistake can have consequences.”  

When asked whether the European final in Leipzig two weeks later would affect the team's focus, Maxence Lacroix said: "No, I don't think so. I think we should focus on playing one game at a time, because if we think 'the Premier League is over and we don't want to play anymore,' then we won't be able to prepare for this very important game."  

“We take every game very seriously, but today we saw some mistakes on our part, and our opponents played very well, so we have to accept the result. At the same time, we didn’t take too many risks in the game, which made the situation more difficult.”  

Image source: Internet/Crystal Palace official website