Chelsea have found what they want in a striker capable of coming off the bench to grab goals in games. They were trailing to Southampton last weekend at St. Mary’s, and after Olivier Giroud was introduced, the narrative changed for the better.
Giroud made a huge difference in Chelsea’s comeback on Saturday to spare the blushes of Antonio Conte and a majority of the players he trusted on the pitch that day.
Alvaro Morata had looked almost the player he was some months back, when he went on a long goal drought. The creative forces behind him were not producing as many chances, and the Blues were losing 2-0 away from home. Chelsea were on the verge of collapse and needed some inspiration.
Conte threw on Giroud and he immediately struck to give Chelsea some hope of a comeback with 20 minutes to go. Hazard grabbed the equalizer before Giroud turned up to score the winner three minutes after.
That will resonate with Arsenal fans who had come to expect this form the huge Frenchman in his days at the Emirates, after all no one in the Premier League history has scored more goals off the bench for a single side than Giroud, than he did for the Gunners.
No one in Premier League history has scored more goals off the bench, for a single team, than Olivier Giroud. His 17 for Arsenal is level with Solskjaer for Man Utd. pic.twitter.com/pm92VmyVFT
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) December 12, 2017
