OLI BACK IN OLD ROUTINE
Veteran Giroud boosts Blues top-four bid
FOR all the talk of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea being young and exciting, it’s the old heads coming through when it matters.
Against Crystal Palace it was Willian, who turns 32 next month, rolling back the years. This time was Olivier Giroud’s turn.
The striker, 33, marked his recall by scoring his sixth goal in his last 10 Premier League games.
Frozen out over Christmas, Giroud was all set to leave in January but has since signed a contract extension to stay another year.
And while the Frenchman may not be everyone’s cup of tea at times, he has been worth his weight in gold over the last few weeks.
Tammy Abraham is the club’s top scorer this season with 16 but he has only netted once since January.
And if Chelsea do clinch a return to the Champions League, it’s people like Giroud they will have to thank.
The Blues had to win to put some distance between them and their Champions League-chasing rivals Leicester and Manchester United.
And Giroud’s strike set them on their way, with the World Cup winner looking like the complete centre-forward.
Lampard rang the changes after his side’s 3-0 mauling by Sheffield United with five of those who started
■ it that game axed. Manchester City’s victory at the Court of Arbitration for Sport made a bounce-back essential for Chelsea where Champions League football is a minimum requirement.
With fifth no longer good enough, the Blues were lucky other results went for them in the wake of their embarrassment by the Blades.
But Norwich were looking for an even bigger bounce-back after getting relegated by West Ham and slaughtered by their own fans on radio phone-ins.
They set up to frustrate the home side and did so in a cagey opening. Chelsea struggle at times against teams who defend deep.
When they did finally get in, Giroud rushed his effort and wasted the opportunity.
Ben Godfrey then did well to hook a header from Ruben Loftus-cheek off his own goalline before Tim Krul tipped a Christian Pulisic effort off the crossbar.
Kurt Zouma then sent a towering header from a corner just wide but the breakthrough finally came in first-half stoppage time. This time Giroud made no mistake heading in from a pinpoint Pulisic cross.
Giroud went close again after the break, powering a header just over.
But despite Norwich offering little as they retreated into their shell, Chelsea struggled to kill the game.
Cesar Azpilicueta fired over from a good position and Giroud headed an Azpilicueta cross over after he had bullied his way past Godfrey.
Giroud then picked out the onrushing Pulisic with a delightful chipped pass over the Norwich back four but Krul saved the American’s goalbound shot.
The ex-arsenal star is one of those players who makes those around him better, knitting together passing moves and creating opportunities.
And he was involved again as Marcos Alonso sent a header straight at the Dutch keeper from another Azpilicueta cross as Chelsea finally saw it out for a vital three points.
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Kepa 6; Azpilicueta 7, Rudiger 6, Zouma 6, Alonso 6 (James 79); Loftus-cheek 6 (Barkley 67, 6), Jorginho 6, Kovacic 6; Willian 6, GIROUD 8 (Abraham 86), Pulisic 6 (Hudson-odoi 79).
Subs: Caballero, Christensen, Mount, Tomori, Pedro.
NORWICH (4-1-4-1): KRUL 7; Aarons 6, Godfrey 7, Klose 6, Lewis 6; Tettey 6 (Stiepermann 78); Hernandez 5 (Idah 78), Mclean 6, Rupp 6 (Martin 89), Cantwell 6 (Buendia 70); Drmic 5 (Pukki 78).
Subs: Mcgovern, Vrancic, Trybull, Thomas.
REFEREE: Jon Moss 6.