Patrick Vieira was full of praise post-match for the Crystal Palace’s man of the moment, Michael Olise, who he believes is ‘still growing as a player.’
Olise’s wondrous 94th minute winner against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon sent the Palace fans at the London Stadium wild, with his sumptuous curling effort from the outside the box, looping over the helpless Łukasz Fabianksi to reward Palace with a vital three points.
The London-born 20-year-old has struggled for consistent game-time since making the switch from Reading in the summer of 2021, but his impact when he has featured is unquestionable. This season Olise has started just 54% of games for the Eagles but has an impressive goal involvement of 20%.
READ MORE: Crystal Palace hero makes big claim about Patrick Vieira after Eagles' victory at West Ham
Before their match against West Ham, Olise had only completed one full 90 minutes this season, coming against his former academy side, Chelsea. Vieira, when quizzed on why Olise lasted the full 90 in Sunday’s victory, explained that it was simply down to the impact he was having on the game, a decision that paid off.
“There wasn’t any reason for me to take him off,” Vieira stated after the game. “From the start of the game [Olise] was really lively, he was getting the ball in his feet, creating situations for us and he had a really good game [against West Ham].
“Michael [Olise] is still growing as a player. When we played away at Everton, he found it really difficult to get involved in the game but [against West Ham] was much better,” the former Nice manager proudly expressed.
“We have to expose him for him to grow as a player. There’s no doubt about his ability to score goals or to play well.”
Meanwhile, another rising star who has caught the eye in recent fixtures is academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell. And Vieira was quick to praise the left-back as well as highlighting the effort from his entire squad in securing all three points at the London Stadium.
“We start to see the real Tyrick [Mitchell]. I think the last three or four games he’s been doing really well. We need him at his best to perform.
“As a team we played well in possession from Vince [Guaita] at the back and defended well up to Wilfried [Zaha] up front. Our game was consistent even if it’s always difficult to control the game for 95 minutes. Overall we did really well.”
READ NEXT:
Every word West Ham’s David Moyes said on Crystal Palace, Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta
'People will be monitoring' - Wilfried Zaha transfer claim made amid Chelsea and Arsenal links
Harry Redknapp picks Crystal Palace star in team of the week alongside Newcastle United trio
Rangers legend makes Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham points amid Wilfried Zaha transfer talks
Crystal Palace Women's star opens up on WSL ambitions and explains Lionesses snub
