Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise's anticipated move to Chelsea is now off with the 21 year old signing a new four year deal at Selhurst Park. It comes as a huge boost for Roy Hodgson’s team just a week into the new season. Below, we’ll take a look back at some of Michael Olise’s most memorable Crystal Palace moments so far after two seasons in South London.
The Frenchman initially joined from Reading in the summer of 2021 with Palace paying just over £8m for his services. Still a teenager at the time, Olise achieved some notable landmarks during his first season, before going on to really shine during the 2022/23 campaign.
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Palace’s youngest Premier League goalscorer this century
🏴 Michael Olise v. Leicester (38 minutes)
• 1 goal
• 3 shots
• 2 key passes
• 1 accurate cross
• 1 interception
• 2 aerial duels won
• 88% passing (15/17)
• 100% aerial duels won (2/2)
• MOTM 🌟 pic.twitter.com/LFmmHDf09T— Matchday365 (@Matchday365) October 3, 2021
Michael Olise scored his first Premier League goal in October 2021 having come on as a substitute in the home match against Leicester City. The Eagles were 2-0 down at the time but Olise’s instinctive finish just eight minutes after coming onto the pitch reduced the deficit and sparked a comeback as Jeffrey Schlupp added another goal for the hosts in a match that ended 2-2.
The goal also created a little bit of club history. Still a few months shy of his 20th birthday, Olise became Crystal Palace’s youngest Premier League goalscorer in the 21st Century. He was the youngest Palace player to score in the top flight since Clinton Morrison registered way back in 1998.
A 94th minute winner at West Ham
While not a prolific goalscorer, Michael Olise has a knack for scoring important goals for Crystal Palace. One of the most memorable was his 94th minute winner away to West Ham early last season, a goal that was later voted Crystal Palace’s moment of the season.
Wilfried Zaha had equalised for Palace late in the First Half at London Stadium but the game appeared to be heading for a 1-1 draw and a share of the spoils in a game that took place just before the 2022 World Cup break. However Olise had other ideas with a Stoppage Time intervention as he picked the ball up on the right flank before cutting on to his favoured left foot and firing past Lukasz Fabianski in the West Ham goal.
A stunning late free-kick against Man Utd
While he only has 4 Premier League goals to his name, Olise is a player capable of producing special moments and that was certainly the case in January of this year with Manchester United the visitors to Selhurst. Bruno Fernandes had put the Red Devils in front and Erik ten Hag’s side appeared to be on the way to an important three points heading into Stoppage Time.
Palace were awarded a late free-kick, although far enough from the centre that many players would have opted to cross rather than shoot. Olise though backed himself to bend it over the wall and his effort crashed into the net off the underside of the bar to the dismay of David de Gea in the visiting goal.
A hat-trick of assists
In truth, Michael Olise was better known for his ability to provide assists rather than score goals during his first two seasons in South London with an outstanding tally of 11 last term. Three of those came in a single game as Palace were rampant in a 5-1 victory against Leeds United in April. Hodgson’s side were actually trailing 1-0 heading into First Half Stoppage Time but Oise’s creativity and quality on the ball was key to sparking the comeback.
His performance also created another slice of history as the 21 year old became the youngest ever player to assist 3 goals from open play in a single Premier League match. Roberto Firmino, Leandro Trossard and Mohamed Salah were the only other players to assist three goals in a Premier League match last season.
Palace fans can now look forward to many more memorable Olise moments with the 21 year old opting to continue his development under Roy Hodgson, rather than make a big money move to Chelsea.
