There is a lot of expectation on Michael Olise’s (22) shoulders. The playmaker, after impressing for Les Bleus in the Olympics, was brought into the senior side in September following his move from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich.
His form since making the move to the Bundesliga, scoring six goals and registering three assists in nine games in all competitions only increased that weight of expectation. However, he has yet to replicate that form for France. He earned his third cap for Les Bleus in Thursday night’s 4-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Israel.
Olise made ‘lots of technical errors’ – Deschamps
However, Olise struggled throughout. Initially, as a No.10 and then out on the right, he was wasteful with the ball, lacking physicality and lucidity in his decision-making, losing the ball on 22 occasions. Touted as the potential successor to the recently retired Antoine Griezmann, a heavy burden in itself, he did little to vanquish the memory of the Atletico Madrid forward.
Speaking post-match, Didier Deschamps admitted that it wasn’t his best performance. “He didn’t have his best match. He knows it too as well, potentially. He can do a lot of things but there were lots of technical errors. There are expectations there. He has faced them before. He wasn’t disconnected but the start of the match didn’t help him […] he can do better,” said the France manager.
