Out-performing Harry Kane – Michael Olise is leading Bayern’s attack with stunning efficiency

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Kompany’s key player 

©TM/IMAGO

On Friday night Bayern Munich were in desperate need of a player that could turn their Bundesliga tie back in their favour. Vincent Kompany’s side had arrived at the Mercedes-Benz Arena to take on an ambitious Stuttgart side and within 34 minutes they were already a goal down, after Angelo Stiller had put the hosts ahead with a wonderful left-footed shot into the top-right corner. To make matters worse, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side were pushing for a second and threatening to claim all three points on the night. Then along came Michael Olise. 

With the referee set to blow for half-time, Bayern pounced on Stuttgart’s high-line when Leroy Sané snatched the loose ball in the middle of the park and duly played a delightful through ball into the path of Olise. With only the goalkeeper to beat, the Frenchman looked up, composed himself and comfortably curled the ball into the far corner with remarkable finesse. Bayern were back on level terms and finally had a platform to go on and win the match in the second half. And not for the first time, Olise was the man that provided the all-important goal for his new club. 

Indeed, Olise’s goal on Friday night was his thirteenth of the season in all competitions for Bayern and when we couple that with 12 assists it points to the 23-year-old talent enjoying a remarkable debut campaign in the German top-flight. Not bad for a young winger that only made the move to Munich eight months prior, when Bayern signed him from Crystal Palace for €53 million. And while that fee may have seemed relatively high at the time, Olise has repaid it tenfold with his performances for Kompany’s side. So much so that the London-born talent has quickly risen up the ranks at the Bundesliga club and is already one of Bayern’s most important players this season. 

After Friday’s performance, Olise’s goals and assists average out to an impressive 1.04 goals and assists per 90 minutes of football in all competitions for Bayern this season. Not only is that better than all of Bayern’s other attacking players, such as Kingsley Coman (0.69), Jamal Musiala (0.81), Sané (0.86) and Serge Gnabry (0.90), but it’s second only to Harry Kane’s club-leading 1.5 goals and assists per 90 for Kompany’s side this season. However, when we filter out Kane’s 12 penalties in all competitions this season, it puts the England striker on an average of just 0.88, which is notably less than Olise’s aforementioned average. In other words, no player at Bayern is scoring or creating goals in open play with the same ferocity as the former Palace winger this season. 

So what’s behind Olise’s sudden rise to prominence at one of Europe’s biggest clubs? Well a quick look back at his time in England would certainly suggest that the winger’s rise to the top of European football was all but guaranteed following his remarkable form in the Premier League. As we can see in the table above, while Olise’s goal contributions this season for Bayern are very impressive, they’re actually a slight decrease on his average for Palace, which stood at an incredible 1.13 goals and assists per 90. That was, comfortably, Olise’s best ever return in a single season, far surpassing the 0.39 per 90 average he achieved the season before. But in the season prior to that Olise bagged an equally impressive average of 0.72 in all competitions for Palace, once again showcasing his clear talent. 

Rather than struggling with form or any perceived changes in quality from one competition to the next, the only thing that has really held Olise back over the course of his career has been injuries. In the 22/23 season, a hamstring injury ruled Olise out for 17 games across all competitions and then a further hamstring injury in the following season ruled him out for another 12 matches. Fortunately for Bayern and their new star player, Olise has yet to miss a single game this season through injury and as a result he’s been able to showcase his talents and go from strength to strength with the German giants. And if he can remain fit and avoid any extended periods of time out of the team, it seems more than certain that Olise will continue to grow into his role at Bayern and become one of Kompany’s key players for years to come.