Giroud is still better than any Chelsea striker

FT Desk

• 3 Nov 2022 07:29 GMT
• 4 min read

Olivier Giroud keeps proving he is better than any striker he left behind at Chelsea with a hand in four goals for AC Milan against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Giroud left Chelsea for Milan for just €1 million last summer, at the same time as the Blues shelled out €115m to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club from Inter Milan.

Now 36, it might have been understandable for the top brass at Stamford Bridge to consider the Frenchman to be past his peak, but he keeps going strong; stronger than any of the other strikers on their books.

READ: AC Milan win Scudetto: Heroic Giroud proves Chelsea wrong

With his two goals and two assists in the 4-0 win over Salzburg, Giroud moved onto eight strikes for the season in all competitions, alongside four provisions. He has had a hand in a goal every 91 minutes he has played for Milan.

"It's not a new life for me, I feel young, and I feel good on the pitch," Giroud told Sky Italia after the game. "I'm very proud of my teammates, we did a good job. I have great hopes for the future."

Chelsea's striker blues

Lukaku is the highest-valued striker on Chelsea's books per Football Transfers' in-house algorithm, meanwhile, rated at €52m, but he has played second fiddle to Lautaro Martinez, and Edin Dzeko at Milan's crosstown rivals Inter this term. He has a goal-involvement every 85 minutes, but hamstring troubles make his pool of games much smaller than Giroud's.

READ: What is Raheem Sterling's best position? Chelsea star already complaining

Back at Chelsea, Kai Havertz has become the main striker despite the Blues adding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to their ranks this summer. Havertz, a former midfielder, drew a blank on Wednesday - as did Aubameyang - as the Blues beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1.

Havertz has taken 286 minutes to contribute a goal or assist this season; Aubameyang's rate is a slightly more respectable 163 minutes, although his number of games is akin to Lukaku's.

And Giroud isn't just about goals and assists. A hulking 6'4" striker, he keeps opposition defenders occupied and is an asset with his back to goal. Just ask Kylian Mbappe, who enjoyed playing alongside him during the recent international break.

"I play differently [with France], they ask other things of me here than at my club," he said after the world champions beat Austria 2-0. "I have a lot more freedom here. The coach knows that there's a No.9 like Olivier, who keeps defences occupied."

The only reason Giroud is unlikely to start for France in Qatar is that a certain Karim Benzema was just crowned the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, but there are few strikers in world football he would play second fiddle to, and certainly none at Chelsea.