Olivier Giroud couldn’t hide his delight that he and Christian Pulisic were able to get on the scoresheet as AC Milan won their first game of the new season 2-0 against Bologna.
Giroud’s goal got Milan going after less than 15 minutes after he tucked away a first-time ball from Tijjani Reijnders that went across the face of goal and found him at the far stick, making it 1-0 early on.
There was something quite interesting about that goal: it is the first he has scored with his right foot out of the 33 he has netted for the club in all competitions.
Not long after, he would play a nice one-two with Pulisic – a combination seen in their Chelsea days – and the USA international would fire home with a rocket from 20 yards.
Giroud spoke to DAZN after the game to reflect on what was a hard fought three points against a tricky Thiago Motta-led side, with his comments relayed by MilanNews and translated below.
A great evening, what message did Milan send?
“I think we are very happy with the performance. We started the game well, we were effective in front of goal. At 2-0 we could have managed a little more but it wasn’t easy. I’m even happier for Christian [Pulisic] who scored.”
You celebrated by making a heart with your hands, who was it for?
“It’s for my family and for all Milan fans.”
How are the new signings settling in?
“I know Pulisic very well, we played together with a good relationship on the pitch. We are very happy with Ruben and Tijjani, they all integrated very well.”
Will Milan be in the Scudetto fight?
“We know how important it is to start the season well. The season will be very very long. We wanted to show that today we are almost ready.”
Oli only has a good 45 minutes in his legs.
Krunic played well too