Michael Olise is one of FC Bayern’s top performers. The French national team player regularly wows fans with spectacular dribbling, precise passes, and his immense creativity. Yet, of all people, the 24-year-old now tops a Bundesliga statistic that no player would actually want to lead.
As the website fussballdaten.de has determined, Olise has already lost possession 194 times after nine Bundesliga matchdays. This puts the attacking star of Germany’s record-holding champions in first place league-wide.
The trend over the past two matchdays is particularly striking. After seven matches, Olise had been in third place with 147 turnovers. In just two games, he added another 47 turnovers. As a result, the Bayern Munich player overtook several competitors and took the top spot in the rankings.
Olise overtakes Hoffenheim star Coufal
Until now, Vladimír Coufal had led the statistics. The TSG Hoffenheim fullback has 185 turnovers after nine matchdays, putting him nine behind Olise.
In third place is Ibrahim Maza of Bayer Leverkusen with 162 turnovers. Behind him are Laurin Curda of SC Paderborn with 161 and Lukas Petkov of SV Elversberg with 157 turnovers.
It is noteworthy how quickly Olise took the lead. While the Frenchman lost possession 47 times over the past two matchdays, Coufal lost possession only 20 times.
The Bayern star is also among the leaders when looking at average ball losses per 90 minutes.
With 23.37 turnovers per game, Olise ranks third in this statistic. Coufal leads the ranking with 23.82 turnovers per 90 minutes, followed by Borna Sosa with 23.45.
Why the statistic isn’t just negative for Olise
At first glance, the numbers seem like a clear warning sign. However, the statistic must be viewed in the context of Olise’s role in Bayern’s play.
The Frenchman is one of Vincent Kompany’s most important creative players. He regularly seeks out one-on-one duels with his opponents, attempts risky through passes, and takes charge in the final third.
It is precisely this style of play that inevitably leads to a higher number of turnovers. Players who frequently dribble or attempt difficult passes lose the ball more often than those who primarily play safe passes.
What matters, therefore, is not just how often Olise loses the ball, but the offensive value his actions bring.
The Bayern star is one of the most dangerous offensive players in the Bundesliga, and his individual skills regularly put him at the center of decisive moments in the game.
The ranking thus also highlights the flip side of his high-risk playing style. Olise takes on a lot of responsibility in Munich’s attack and repeatedly tries to make a difference with extraordinary moves.
For FC Bayern, therefore, it is likely less the absolute number of his turnovers that matters, but rather how often his risky moves result in dangerous scoring chances.
The number of turnovers is thus a noteworthy statistic, but by no means automatic proof of poor performances by the Frenchman.