Eze and Olise rescue Crystal Palace to earn vital win against Sheffield United

Crisis, what crisis? Roy Hodgson has seen it all in his lengthy managerial career but even the former England manager must have feared the worst when Ben Brereton Díaz put Sheffield United in front inside the first 30 seconds.

Thankfully for him, spectacular performances from Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise on only their fourth appearance together this season came to Crystal Palace’s rescue to ease the pressure on Hodgson after a disastrous run of results.

The chairman, Steve Parish, had made it clear that the 76‑year‑old’s future rested on their performance against Chris Wilder’s side and, ­having twice battled back from a goal down through two goals from a rejuvenated Eze after James McAtee scored Sheffield United’s second, it was Olise who stole the headlines with a fabulous strike.

The only dampener for the hosts came when both had to be substituted late on with injury concerns. Hodgson admitted that Eze could be a doubt for the trip to face their arch‑rivals Brighton on Saturday.

“While the two of them were on the pitch we were excellent going forward,” the Palace manager said. “They’re highly valuable players under long‑term contracts and it’s up to us to make us a better team so they don’t feel they have to go elsewhere.”

Parish’s response to heavy criticism from supporters following their embarrassing 5‑0 thrashing against Arsenal 10 days ago had been to splash the cash, with the arrival of the Colombia right‑back Daniel Muñoz on Tuesday morning swiftly followed by news that a fee of more than £20m has been agreed for the Blackburn teenager Adam ­Wharton. But while the mood in south London was also boosted before kick-off by the return of Olise from injury and Jordan Ayew from the Africa Cup of Nations, conceding a goal to the Premier League’s bottom side inside the opening 22 seconds certainly was not part of the plan.

A clever routine straight from the training ground that fooled ­Palace’s players into thinking they were about to punt the ball into the corner allowed Gustavo Hamer to race on to a flick from Oli McBurnie and deliver a brilliant through ball. There was still plenty for Brereton Díaz to do but the Chile forward made it look simple as he curled home his second goal since joining on loan from Villarreal from the edge of the box. Selhurst Park was stunned into silence.

Michael Olise celebrates scoring the winner for Crystal Palace. Photograph: Micah Crook/PPAUK/Shutterstock

Olise proved to be Palace’s saviour after they conceded an early goal here against Brentford in his last ­appearance at the end of December and once again it was the France Under‑21 forward who provided their spark. Having tormented his marker Auston Trusty for the opening quarter of an hour, he finally got his reward when an inch-perfect cross was volleyed past Sheffield United’s new goalkeeper, Ivo Grbic, by Eze.

Yet if Palace thought that would be a platform for their comeback, they were mistaken. Within three ­minutes the visitors found themselves in front again when McAtee’s effort took a deflection off Marc Guéhi and looped over Henderson after Eze had given the ball away cheaply. The England midfielder made up for his indiscretion by equalising during a breathless period of play, curling home Olise’s pass from just outside the area with his weaker left foot.

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Grbic, who endured a baptism of fire on his debut last week when he conceded five times against Brighton in the FA Cup, needed lengthy treatment at the start of the second half after being clattered by Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Croatia international was extremely reluctant to leave the pitch and pleaded with medical staff to let him continue but was eventually replaced by the former Palace goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.

Eze carved open an ­opportunity for Olise with an excellent reverse pass that Foderingham did well to push away at his near post before Mateta fired over from a tight angle. But the moment that Olise had been ­waiting for arrived soon after when the ball was deflected into his path and he smashed in a first-time shot past Foderingham via the far post. Having celebrated his goal wildly, he was immediately withdrawn as a precaution.

“We could have done with Olise having a few more days off but that’s the challenge you’re up against in this league,” Wilder said. “When you’re up against two players who are worth more than £50m each, sometimes you just have to hold your hands up.”

A mazy run from Eze would have settled matters but for Foderingham’s smart save at his near post before he was also forced off. Palace then had to survive a late onslaught as United sensed an opportunity but a relieved Hodgson was able to cele­brate a vital victory after the captain Anel Ahmedhodzic’s header struck the crossbar late on.