FORMER Celtic goal hero Odsonne Edouard fired blanks again as Crystal Palace flopped 1-0 at Brighton last night.
The French striker, who quit the Hoops in a potential £18.5million deal on deadline day on August 31 2021, has netted a mere nine goals in 51 league games for the London club.
Edouard, 25, claimed 86 strikes for the Hoops, including a memorable double in the 2-1 Scottish Cup Final triumph over Hearts on the iconic date of May 25 in 2019 to seal the fabulous treble treble.
The flamboyant forward cost Celtic a club record £9million when he was signed from Paris Saint-Germain in June 2018 after an impressive season-long loan at Parkhead.
TREBLE TREBLE YELL…Odsonne Edouard and Scott Sinclair celebrate the Frenchman’s winning goal against Hearts in the 2019 Scottish Cup Final.
Edouard scored twice on his Palace debut against Spurs, but, unfortunately for the ex-Hoops fans’ favourite, that did not open the floodgates across the border.
After their latest defeat, the Selhurst Park outfit are 12th in the Premier League after 27 games, but just two points above rock-bottom Southampton and face a relegation dogfight between now and the end of the campaign.
Palace gaffer Patrick Vieira admitted he is “concerned” about the lack of goals and insisted his front players must “change their mindset”.
The setback on the south coast was their fourth consecutive league game without scoring a goal.
LONDON CALLING…Odsonne Edouard celebrates a dream debut for Crystal Palace with two goals against Spurs.
With only four goals collected in 2023 and no wins in the last 12 outings, a lack of cutting edge is now a massive obstacle for the London club to clear if they hope to remain in the top flight.
Edouard had two efforts on target against Brighton, but was thwarted on both occasions by keeper Jason Steele. He was withdrawn from the action in the 79th minute with Jean-Phillipe Mateta coming on in his place.
Vieira, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “I’m concerned about scoring goals. When I look at the team performance and looking at the work ethic and our organisation and how the players execute our plan, I was pleased with that.
“The worry I have is that when you create those opportunities, but you don’t take them, of course you start to be worried about that. We have to score those goals.
“The players, especially those front players, have to change their mindset. We have to be more aggressive going forward, we have to be more aggressive in the last third.”
BRIEF ENCOUNTER…Ange Postecoglou and Odsonne Edouard before the French striker’s quickfire move to Crystal Palace two months after the new manager’s arrival.
Edouard’s last game for Celtic was the 1-0 loss at Ibrox in Ange Postecoglou’s derby debut. He was on his way to Palace two days later in an initial £14million switch which will rise by £4.5million with agreed add-ons.
Next up for the French international forward and his team-mates is a trip across London on Sunday to face pacesetters Arsenal, where he could come up against former Parkhead team-mate Kieran Tierney.
Then Palace are at home on Saturday April 1 against Leicester City, managed by Brendan Rodgers who signed Edouard for the Hoops.
