January 1 2022

Olise scores Palace's second goal with a free kick which sails into the net.

Crystal Palace's first game of 2022 ended in a narrow 2-3 defeat against West Ham United at Selhurst Park.

Patrick Vieira, making his return to the dugout after a forced absence due to Covid, picked Christian Benteke to partner Odsonne Edouard up front, and Luka Milivojevic replaced Cheikhou Kouyate in midfield.

The Eagles almost went ahead in the first minute of the game when Jeffrey Schlupp struck the post. Edouard also hit the cross bar with a first-time effort.

West Ham went ahead though in the 22nd minute when a sliding Michail Antonio met a curling cross from Said Benrahma. The visitors then doubled their lead three minutes later when Manuel Lanzini expertly controlled a pass by Declan Rice, and smashed an effort past Vicente Guaita.

It went from bad to worse for the Eagles just before half time when Milivojević was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box in an attempt to clear the ball, and referee Darren England pointed to the spot after an intervention from the VAR officials. Lanzini stepped up and slotted the ball home to make it 0-3 to the visitors.

Palace finally got back into the game seven minutes before the end when substitute Michael Olise crossed the ball in for Édouard to slide the ball home. Palace threw everything at West Ham in search of another goal, and got their reward when Olise's free kick on the right, sailed into the back of the net.

The Eagles almost got a memorable equaliser in the dying moments when substitute Jean-Philippe Mateta attempted an acrobatic effort which went just wide of Łukasz Fabiański's goal.

Palace: Guaita, Andersen, Guehi, Ward, Mitchell, Schlupp, Hughes (Riedewald, 75), Milivojevic (Mateta, 60), Edouard, Ayew, Benteke (Olise, 68)

West Ham Fabianski, Johnson (Masuaku, 45), Dawson, Coufal, Diop, Benrahma (Vlasic, 71), Rice, Lanzini (Noble, 89), Bowen, Soucek, Antonio

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2021/22 squad stats

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