A selection of Chelsea fans on Twitter were delighted with the performance of Olivier Giroud during the club’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 last night.
The Blues went into the game on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run and dominated the proceedings in the opening half without creating any clear-cut scoring opportunities.
The trend was quite similar after the interval until Giroud’s sublime overhead kick gave them the lead in the 68th minute.
Initially, the Frenchman was adjudged to be offside and it seemed the case looking at the side-on angle.
However, after an extended review by the Video Assistant Referee, it was spotted that Atletico defender Mario Hermoso mistimed his attempted clearance into the path of the Frenchman and the goal was valid.
The Blues comfortably held on for the victory as Diego Simeone’s side failed to register a shot on target at the National Arena in Bucharest which was their home stadium on the night.
Giroud has been in sublime form in the Champions League this term, registering six goals in five appearances, only two of those being starts.
His display against Atletico pleased a number of the club’s faithful and here is how some of them reacted on Twitter.
Twitter reactions:
Olivier Giroud in the UCL:
5 appearances
2 starts
6 goals (2nd highest)
38 mins/goal (Best)
1 perfect hat-trickChelsea’s hero in Europe.
Incredible professional & Chelsea’s cult hero 💙@_OlivierGiroud_ pic.twitter.com/v0i4ytUjh2
— Dubois (@CFCDUBois) February 23, 2021
https://twitter.com/Hamer1Kevin/status/1364335070442647557
https://twitter.com/DeBeardo/status/1364338518311510016
https://twitter.com/KovaTime/status/1364390732304416773
Giroud's contract should be extended. The guy is Amazing. Our only reliable striker
— Engr Chima Kingsley (@EngrChimaKings1) February 23, 2021
Giroud bagged his 11th goal of the campaign on Tuesday night and he is only one behind Tammy Abraham, who is the club’s top scorer this season.
He has been in-and-out of the starting line-up this term but has still impressed with an average of 91 minutes per goal for the Blues.
The 34-year-old has now scored in back-to-back games for the west London side and should be fancied to start against Manchester United in the league this weekend.
In other news, Tuchel praised one Chelsea star after last night’s win over Atletico.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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