I will take pressure off Frank
Giroud vowing to fill void left by Hazard departure
OLIVIER GIROUD has told Chelsea he is ready to handle the pressure of plugging the gap in attack left by Eden Hazard.
Hazard scored 21 goals for Chelsea last season – 16 in the Premier League – as they finished third in the table and won the Europa League by beating Arsenal 4-1 in the final in Baku.
But the Belgian star’s £89million departure to Real Madrid this summer has left a huge hole in new manager Frank Lampard’s forward line.
Chelsea’s next highest scorer in the Premier League was Pedro with eight goals – 13 in all competitions.
Giroud also scored 13, but 11 came in the Europa League and only two in the Premier League. Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata were next in the Premier League with a paltry five each.
France striker Giroud, who signed a new one-year deal earlier this summer, insists he is ready to carry most of the goalscoring load, easing the burden on youngsters Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The former Arsenal striker, who has 214 career goals for his six senior clubs, said: “We must not put too much pressure on players who will play in Eden’s position – the young players.
“I will take the pressure, no problem, if it can release them.
“With the number of goals Eden scored, I don’t know if I can take that from him, but we have several strikers with different qualities.
“We have the quality and the quantity in the squad, but obviously you know you cannot just replace, like that, a player of the quality of Eden.”
Forward Hazard also contributed 15 assists in the Premier League so his departure means that, with a FIFA transfer ban preventing Lampard from going out and signing a replacement, the burden has to be shouldered by someone else – or shared around.
World Cup winner Giroud is hoping Lampard gives him a regular run in the side. He made only seven league starts under Maurizio Sarri last season – but now the only other central strikers left in the squad are Belgian Michy Batshuayi and Tammy Abraham, both returning from loan spells. Giroud added: “We have to share it around. The boss repeats day after day, ‘Take your responsibility’.
“We need to have personality, play without fear and with confidence. He insists on this. We know that he is very demanding. We know what he was like as a player, and as a manager it is normal that he wants to get the best out of his team.
“The boss has an idea of what he wants to achieve. He is a competitor and wants to win every single game.
“We know what we have to do.”
Chelsea face Spanish champions Barcelona – who have not brought Argentina forward Lionel Messi to Japan – tomorrow here in Saitama in the final game of their tour of Japan.
Lampard is expected to have Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Abraham – who both missed the 1-0 defeat by Kawasaki Frontale in Yokohama on Friday through illness – available again.
We know he is very demanding