Yannick Bolasie - Player of the Week

Bolasie scores Palace's first-ever Premier League hat-trick

Crystal Palace winger, Yannick Bolasie, scored the fastest hat-trick of the Premier League season as Crystal Palace beat Sunderland 4-1 at the Stadium of Light. It is the 7th Premier League hat-trick this season but the first by a player playing away from home. It is also the first-ever Premier League hat-trick from a Crystal Palace player after 6 Premier League seasons and over 200 matches. It was 0-0 at half-time and there had been few chances for either team, but the game exploded in the second half. After 48 minutes, Bolasie crossed for Glenn Murray to put Palace ahead and then Bolasie took over the responsibility of scoring the goals. Bolasie scored after 51, 53 and 62 minutes to complete his hat-trick in only 11 minutes. Sunderland, who are fighting against relegation, scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute, but by this time the stadium (attendance 42.073) was nearly empty, apart from some very happy Palace fans!

"To score a Premier League hat-trick is a dream come true for me." Yannick Bolasie.

What's happened to Palace under Pardew?

Alan Pardew became Crystal Palace manager in January and has taken the club from a team in danger of relegation to one of the form teams in the Premier League. Only Arsenal and Manchester Utd have taken more Premier League points than Palace this year, and no team have a better away record in 2015 (won 5, drawn 1 and lost 1). Pardew has strong connections with Palace, he played over 100 times for The Eagles (Palace's nickname) and helped them to their best-ever finish in the top division, when they finished third in 1990/91. Pardew also, famously, scored the winner against Liverpool in the 1990 FA Cup semi-final (4-3), but Palace lost the final to Manchester United (1-0) in a replay after drawing 3-3 in the first game.

"The fans were singing, 'it was like watching Brazil', and it was!" Alan Pardew, Crystal Palace manager.

What do we know about Yannick Bolasie?

Yannick 'Yala' Bolasie was born on 23 May 1989 in Lyon, the third largest city in France. He moved to the UK, with his parents, when he was just 7 months old. He was brought up in Lewisham, which is an area in South London. Both his parents are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and his dad even played for DR Congo (then called Zaire) when he was younger. Bolasie had the option to play for three different countries at international level. He could have played for France through birth (because he was born there), England through residency (because he was brought up there), or  DR Congo through heritage (because his parents were born there). He chose to play for DR Congo and made his debut in front of 100,000 fans in the national stadium in the capital - Kinshasha. He recently helped DR Congo to the semi-finals of the Africa Nations Cup, before losing to the winners - Ivory Coast. 

“There are 80,000 to 100,000 fans, it’s noisy, with drums. It’s like a party in the stands.” Bolasie talking about matches in Kinshasa - the capital of DR Congo.

Where has Bolasie played?

Many players play for youth teams at professional clubs before they start their professional careers. Bolasie's road to the Premier League was a bit different. He played for youth teams at amateur clubs and continued to play for his school team. When he was 17, he was given his debut at a small amateur club called Hillingdon Borough. He says it was difficult and the football was very physical at that level. When he was 18, his cousin, Lomana Lualua, who used to play for Newcastle Utd, arranged a trial for him on the mediterranean island of Malta. Bolasie was offered a contract and played there for a year. When he returned to the UK he was offered a contract by Plymouth Argyle, in the fourth division. After 3 seasons, he moved to Bristol City in the second division, before he was signed by Crystal Palace. When Palace were promoted in 2012/13, Bolasie had gone from school football to the Premier League in only 5 years!  

Do you know what grime music is?

Do you know what grime music is? It's a mixture of drum and bass and hip hop that originated in London in the early 2000s, and Yannick Bolasie loves it. The most famous grime artist is probably Dizee Rascal, who has won many music awards in the UK and sold over a million albums. Bolasie not only listens to grime music but also sings. Bolasie takes part in what are called 'Grime battles', where two singers challenge each other by rapping about each other. One of Bolasie's Grime battles has been included on a DVD called Lord of the Mics. The rap battle is against Bradley Wright-Phillips, the son of Arsenal legend, Ian Wright. Phillips also played for Manchester CIty and Southampton, and now plays for New York Red Bulls in the USA. Try googling 'Bolasie Grime Battles' and have a listen!

"I listen to grime before matches and in the car I'm always rapping. It's something I've always done." Yannick Bolasie.

What's the fastest Premier League hat-trick?

Yannick Bolasie scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick of the season against Sunderland, but at 11 minutes it's only the 8th fastest in Premier League history. The fastest Premier League hat-trick was scored by Robbie Fowler back in 1994/95. The match was against Arsenal at Anfield, and it took the Liverpool striker just 4 minutes and 23 seconds to score all three goals in a 3-0 win for The Reds. Bolasie is the first player from DR Congo to score a Premier League hat-trick, and became the 39th different nationality to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. Six other players have scored a Premier League hat-trick this season:

Did you know......?

• Yannick Bolasie comes from a football family. His dad was a footballer and his cousin is ex- Newcastle striker Lumana Lualua.
• Before this hat-trick, Bolasie had only scored one goal this season!.
• The word hat-trick was first used in 1858 in a game of cricket.
• Crystal Palace and Hull City are the only Premier League teams never to win a major trophy.
• Crystal Palace's original home was The Crystal Palace, but they left in 1915.