Later this evening, AC Milan will face Napoli in the 28th round of Serie A, hoping to leapfrog their city rivals Inter at the top of the standings. Olivier Giroud will play from start and will be eager to score.
The Frenchman is yet to find the back of the net away from home, not counting the brace against Inter, and tonight is the perfect opportunity to break that drought. And a goal would do him good in general, having failed to score in the last three games.
In an interview with Gazzetta Dello Sport (via MilanLive), former Milan striker Jean-Pierre Papin heaped praise on his compatriot and assured that he will break the away drought shortly. He also hinted that Giroud could decide the game tonight.
“That’s what Olivier is like, his story backs that up. He doesn’t always score but he gets into thrilling gusts. He decides the important matches, a derby or perhaps a challenge for first place against Napoli.
“There are players, like Ibra, who are energised by whistles and others, like Giroud, who give their best when they feel loved. San Siro has that effect on you, scoring in that stadium gives you an inexplicable energy. But, as I said, Giroud knows how to leave his mark when the stakes are high. You will see that he will start scoring away goals too,” he stated.
It remains to be seen if Giroud will be the decisive player tonight, but it’s clear a good performance will be needed from him. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back on the bench and the pressure is thus heavier this time out.
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Prophet Papin 😁
yes, he called it!