Michael Olise grabbed an injury time winner for Crystal Palace as they went home with all 3 points away to West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Wilfried Zaha cancelled out Saïd Benrahma’s superb strike in the first half, as Palace scored the winner after catching the Hammers on the counter attack with the last effort of the game.
Story of the Match
West Ham lined in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Gianluca Scamacca continuing to lead the line up front as Tomáš Souček made his 100th appearance for the club. Palace took to the field in a 4-3-3 setup which saw Wilfred Zaha leading the line with Michael Olise and Jordan Ayew providing support out-wide, with the ever-lively Eberechi Eze offering a threat from midfield. Nathaniel Clyne and Cheick Doucouré also made a return to Patrick Viera’s side.
The Hammers went into the game confident following a 3-0 win over FCSB which saw them become the first side to win all 6 games in the UEFA Conference League group stage, whilst Palace were looking to continue their momentum following a 1-0 over Southampton last time out in the league.
Rainy conditions made for a tricky playing surface as the ball fizzed around the field as both sides settled into the game. The front three of Crystal Palace caused West Ham issues from the off, finding space in behind midfield as they applied constant pressure with fluid movement on and off the ball.
Jarrod Bowen dragged his volley wide after a fantastic cross from Aaron Cresswell - who is yet to have an assist to his name despite creating the most chances for the Hammers this season. The Eagles continued to pin West Ham in their own half as they struggled to get their creative players on the ball.
However, despite their early dominance, Palace lost the ball inside their own half and were punished as Said Benrahma marked his 100th appearance for the club by unleashing an absolute rocket from outside the box which left Vicente Guaita with no chance to put his side 1-0 up.
David Moyes appeared to set his side up to try catch Palace on the break by having his centre backs apply heavy pressure on Wilfied Zaha to win the ball back quickly and launch it up-field to the likes of Bowen or Benrahma on the counterattack. A poor pass from Craig Dawson to Thilo Kehrer allowed Eze to pounce on the loose ball to play in Zaha, who slotted home the equalizer for his 6th goal of the season as both sides went in to halftime deadlocked at 1-1.
Michail Antonio was brought on at half time to offer West Ham more of a physical presence up top, which also saw both full backs push up field to deliver crosses into the box in an attempt to find a goal to take the lead. Andre Ayew was lucky to escape a booking from referee Paul Tierney after a questionably high challenge on Lucas Paquetá, which left the Brazilian requiring treatment. Manuel Lanzini replaced goal-scorer Benrahma, much to the dismay of player and crowd alike, as David Moyes looked to change things up in the last 25 minutes of the game.
Palace had a penalty appeal waved away following a tangle between Kehrer and Eze inside the box. Minutes later, West Ham had a penalty appeal of their own waved away as Jarrod Bowen went down inside the box following a challenge from Tyrick Mitchell, which both referee and VAR deemed to not be enough for a spot-kick.
Paul Tierney did end up awarding West Ham a penalty following a bulldozing run from Michail Antonio saw him go down following a tangle with Marc Guéhi. VAR advised Tierney to head to the monitor to review his decision, which he ended up reversing.
Palace broke on the counter with the last chance of the game as Antonio gave possession away cheaply to Guaita, who launched his side forward for one last counter-attack, which saw Michael Olise curl a deflected effort past Łukasz Fabiański to secure all 3 points for the Eagles away from home.
Player of the Match - Michael Olise
Grabbed a well-deserved goal after being a constant threat throughout the game, cutting inside regularly on to his left foot to deliver dangerous crosses and efforts on goal.
