Giroud relieved to finally end his Chelsea goal drought

         

It’s entirely possible that only one man in the Chelsea contingent making the long flight home from Belarus is in a truly good mood.

It’s probably not Maurizio Sarri, who endured another staccato outing from his (mostly) second-choice cup team. It’s probably not the players who were pushed hard by BATE Borisov and were lucky to escape with a clean sheet. Thank you, woodwork.

It probably is Olivier Giroud, who just had such a weight lifted off his shoulders that he’s likely floating in his seat. Better keep that seatbelt on, Olivier!

Giroud last scored a goal for his club on the sixth of May. That’s a stretch of 6 months, 12 appearances and 794 minutes of futility — although both Maurizio Sarri and France coach Didier Deschamps (in Giroud’s equally scoreless, albeit not success-less, World Cup) were at pains to emphasize the importance of his overall game.