MY ACCOUNT
While Chelsea struggle for goals, summer departure Olivier Giroud is finding his groove at AC Milan.
After a brace helped them to a vital 2-1 win over city rivals Inter Milan last weekend, he bagged two more in the 4-0 Coppa Italia quarter-final demolition of Lazio in midweek.
Often dismissed as a back-up player, Giroud is showing the Blues exactly what they are missing and could yet prove decisive in the Italian title race.
Ahead of Milan’s clash with Sampdoria on Sunday lunchtime, we turn the spotlight on the veteran Frenchman.
Hitting his straps
As Serie A paused for its winter break, it did not look like Giroud’s Italian switch was paying dividends for him.
A mixture of coronavirus, back and hamstring injuries limited his game time to just five league starts.
In his first outing of 2022, he scored his fifth goal of the season in a 3-1 win over Roma before netting four times in two games this week to make it six in seven this calendar year.
It is the sort of fightback that Giroud is used to producing after numerous campaigns cast aside as second or third choice at both Arsenal and Chelsea.
Each time he proved managers wrong with his performances and goals. While it was circumstance that kept him out at Milan, that same mentality has stood him in good stead.
Chelsea departure
Thomas Tuchel’s plans did not involve the 35-year-old and having done plenty of time on the bench, Giroud knew time was up.
He said: “I liked the Premier League but at some point, I had to make a decision.
“I told Tuchel that the last three months had been too difficult.
“It was an obvious choice to leave Chelsea, I moved on with great emotion for all the moments we experienced. Some were good, some others not so much, but we won three important titles.”
Milan move
Having already turned down chances to play for Juventus and Inter in recent years, Giroud finally made the move to Italy.
In October, he said: “I looked up to this club and this amazing shirt so this could be a fantastic end to my career in Europe.
“When you arrive at Milan you feel the weight of history. I have met Sheva [Andriy Shevchenko] many times. I told him he was my hero.
“He laughed but I got him to sign a shirt and I was the happiest I could be.”
But Giroud took the No9 shirt. Since Filippo Inzaghi retired 10 years ago, 10 players have taken that number with none of them succeeding.
Krzysztof Piatek, Gonzalo Higuain, Andre Silva, Gianluca Lapadula, Luiz Adriano, Fernando Torres, Mattia Destro, Alessandro Matri, Alexandre Pato and Mario Mandzukic have all flattered to deceive.
After his best week at the San Siro — and by reaching double figures — many in Italy believe he has broken the No9 curse.
Goals a given
Some Milan fans were a little concerned that spending £1.7million on Giroud when they already had 40-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a cheap move.
Even if it was, the Frenchman is beginning to show that does not make it a bad one.
He has seven strikes in the league from only eight starts and 10 shots on target — he is lethal in front of goal.
Five of those efforts can be classed as big chances, showing that natural instinct he has inside the box to get into the right positions.
He has won 41 aerial duels this campaign, by far and away the most of any Rossoneri player despite his somewhat limited game time.
This all comes despite averaging 34.33 touches per 90 minutes of football, the lowest of any Milan player.
What Chelsea would give for a player with that output currently.
Anything can happen
The list of honours Giroud has already won is impressive — a Ligue 1 title, four FA Cups, one Europa League, one Champions League and, of course, the World Cup with France.
Giroud said last October: “If you told me 20 years ago that I would win so many trophies and experience so many amazing things, I would never have imagined it. I feel very grateful.”
But Milan have put themselves in a fantastic position to add a Serie A title to the Frenchman’s list — and it would be their first in 11 years.
For the 35-year-old, winning a Scudetto and scoring more goals is his main aim.
Giroud: “I can score at least 15 goals, that’s what I hope. If I play every game, that’s what I expect.
“I hope [we can win Serie A], we have the quality and young players. It’s a clear target we have.”
