There was some panic around a week ago about whether Olivier Giroud would be able to play the derby against Inter, and the answer is thankfully a yes.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall that Giroud is the second-top scorer in the league after four goals in three rounds, with Lautaro Martinez leading the way having scored one more than him.
Needless to say that this derby will also involve a battle between the two strikers. While they are very different – in age, in movements and, specifically, also in the ways in which they found the net – both are leaders who can decide any game.
Back on 5 February 2022, Giroud made one of the most striking recent derby memories as he scored a match-winning brace to not only secure a massive three points in the derby, but also reignite Milan’s push towards the Scudetto.
It was Samir Handanovic he beat that night, but tonight it will be Yann Sommer he is trying to beat. The 36-year-old has gone four derbies without a goal, but in the first three games of the season both sides scored eight times, suggesting a more open contest.
This season, Giroud is the wingman of a much more unpredictable team, which uses the full-backs as midfielders and the midfielders as attacking midfielders. It also has a greater number of men capable of winning duels physically and one-on-one.
From the end of last season to the start of this season, Olivier has scored in six straight games in a row (nine goals). He had only managed it once in his career (Arsenal 2015) and against Bologna he scored with his right foot for the first time at Milan.
Finally, there is one last important fact: with a goal in the derby he could become the first Rossoneri player to score in the first four games of the championship since Bierhoff in the 1998-99 season.
