Crystal Palace were held to a 1-1 draw by Zrinjski, leaving their Conference League hopes hanging in the balance.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner has urged his boys to bring their A-game for the second leg of the play-offs at Selhurst Park, but it is easier said than done.
Most of the Crystal Palace players were off the boil on Thursday, resulting in another tepid display. One particularly stuck out.
Palace winger Brennan Johnson made his seventh appearance for the Eagles since his £35 million winter switch to South London.
Unfortunately, he has yet to open his account for the Glasners’ side and delivered another underwhelming performance.
Johnson failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles and lost possession nine times. He struggled to get involved in the game, recording only 26 touches.
His unproductivity shouldn’t come as a surprise.
He was already having a poor season at Tottenham Hotspur, failing to register a goal contribution in his final seven games for the club.
There was a sense of desperation about Johnson’s arrival in the first place, and that feeling is only growing stronger.
The 24-year-old was never an obvious fit for this Palace side, and so far, he looks like a punt that isn’t paying off.
The £35 million fee is beginning to feel like money poorly spent.
With Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise gone, Palace lost their two most inventive, ball-dominant attackers, players capable of unlocking compact defences with craft and guile.
What they needed was a technician, someone comfortable receiving between the lines and creating something from nothing.
Instead, they signed a runner. Johnson’s main strength is attacking space in behind, but the Eagles already have Ismaila Sarr for that, and they need something else.
Right now, Johnson doesn’t look like the solution. He looks like a costly miscalculation from the Palace hierarchy.
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