On his injury return, Michael Olise scored the game-winning goal as Crystal Palace overcame a two-go deficit to defeat Sheffield United in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.
After just 20 seconds, Ben Brereton Diaz of Sheffield United scored a goal past Dean Henderson after Gustavo Hamer had sent him behind the defence. It was not a great start for Palace.
Eberechi Eze pushed in Michael Olise’s chipped cross for Palace to react in the 17th minute, and James McAtee’s deflected shot gave the visitors a lead again in the 20th.
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then needed a magical moment from Eze to bring Palace even twice in the first half. He took the ball from Olise and struck it powerfully with his left foot from the edge of the box into the top corner.
The winning goal for Palace was scored in the 67th minute by the outstanding Olise. After Olise’s attempted cross was rejected, it went straight into his path. Olise’s curling shot hit the inside of the post before finding the net, giving Palace the victory.
Late in the game, Chris Wilder’s team came dangerously close to leveling the score, but Anel Ahmedhodzic’s header cannoned back off the Palace crossbar, leaving the Blades at the bottom of the table.
Each team had only won once in their previous ten league games going into this match, and both were experiencing similarly bad runs of play.
Although Sheffield United has improved under Wilder and amassed five points since his reappointment, their strong start to the season was not rewarded in this match.
The win is a significant lift for Palace manager Roy Hodgson, who has been under fire in recent weeks for his team’s dismal performance. During the 5-0 loss against Arsenal, fans expressed their displeasure with the team by holding up a banner.
Due to injuries, he was only able to include Olise and Eze in his squad seven times this season, but their quality was evident.
Olise’s dribbling and crossing skills created issues for the Blades even after the Eagles fell behind, and his winning goal—his third in his past three Premier League games—finally lifted Palace out of the bottom three.
Since Eze is Palace’s primary outlet in possession and can be matched up by the opposition, Olise’s presence looked to open him up.
The England international shown that he might be returning to his peak. His brilliant play for his second goal, which he scored despite having little opportunity, should serve as a lesson to Gareth Southgate when he selects his England team for the games in March.
Nevertheless, Eze and Olise had to leave after getting treatment, but the latter said the players were well.
“I’m OK, it was just a precaution, it should be fine,” said Eze. “[Michael Olise] is doing well too. He is competent.
