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MADRID. — Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel paid tribute to the professionalism of Olivier Giroud on Tuesday night.
The veteran French forward’s overhead kick gave his side a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
The 34-year-old’s acrobatic effort in the 68th minute in Bucharest handed Chelsea the advantage going into the second leg of their last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge on March 17.
Tuchel said Giroud, who has scored 11 goals for Chelsea in all competitions this season, was a joy to work with on the training field.
“He trains like a 20-year-old,” Tuchel added. “He is a guy who has a good mixture of serious and joy in training.
“He is always positive and it is a big factor for the group.
“He enjoys every day being a professional soccer player on this level and this is the level he needs to be.”
Giroud’s magnificent bicycle kick broke Atletico Madrid’s resistance and earned Chelsea a crucial away goal, a 1-0 victory giving Tuchel’s side a slender advantage in the Champions League last 16.
It was initially ruled out for offside but stood after VAR showed Mario Hermoso had got the final touch, delivering a huge blow to Atletico’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
“I didn’t know what to think about the goal, I just focused on hitting the ball,” said Giroud. “I love an overhead kick and I was just pleased to see the ball hit the back of the net. I had no clue about being offside or not.” Holders Bayern Munich brushed off their recent poor domestic form to throw down a Champions League marker with an emphatic 4-1 win at Lazio in Tuesday night’s last 16, first leg.
Robert Lewandowski gave Bayern an early lead before 17-year-old Jamal Musiala scored his first Champions League goal on only his fourth appearance in Europe.
Musiala, who turns 18 tomorrow, is now the youngest English goalscorer in Champions League history. A Leroy Sane strike gave Bayern a three-goal half-time cushion at the Stadio Olimpico before Francesco Acerbi scored an own goal just after the break. Joaquin Correa pulled a goal back early in the second half to give the scoreline some respectability for Lazio.
“We were aggressive from the start and went full throttle,” Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka told Sky on his first appearance after testing positive for Covid-19. — AFP.
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