Olivier Giroud started his first game under Maurizio Sarri and linked up repeatedly with Eden Hazard, including on Hazard’s first two goals. Giroud offers Chelsea a different option at No. 9 than Alvaro Morata. Not better or worse – different.
For a man who defines “leading man” through his physique, physical and tactical presence, penchant for highlight-worthy moments and charisma, Olivier Giroud is evolving into a powerful supporting player. He carried over the role he played for France in their World Cup run to his first start for Chelsea this season, which became the Blues’ most impressive win of their five.
Giroud and Eden Hazard spent the game sharing a high-performance wavelength. Hazard’s first two goals on the end of passes from Giroud gave the Frenchman his fifth multi-assist game since arriving in England in 2013. By contrast, he has 17 multi-goal games. He is far more accustomed to taking the last touch than making the last pass. But over the last few months he has found new success creating space and chances for the fast, world-class wingers around him.
Giroud’s individual performance and his contributions to Hazard’s stirred up baseless jeering towards Alvaro Morata. Take Giroud’s passing game. He completed 35 passes in the game, 10 of which went to Eden Hazard. Morata’s detractors point out how little he did to feed Hazard in earlier games. That is true. But context matters.
Olivier Giroud received 42 passes in the game against Cardiff City. Alvaro Morata received 25 passes against Newcastle and Bournemouth combined. The only game in which Chelsea played the ball to Morata a comparable amount (41 passes) was the opener against Huddersfield, where Hazard played only the final 14 minutes. Morata hasn’t played the ball to Hazard as much as Giroud because Morata hasn’t received the ball as much as Giroud did on Saturday. And as a proportion of passes received and passes made, Morata’s interactions with Hazard against Newcastle and Bournemouth are comparable to Giroud’s against Cardiff.
Part of the difference in the service to the striker are the opponent’s tactics. Newcastle and Bournemouth played a tight low block that took away all the space and passing lanes for the centre-forward. The only way Alvaro Morata could have broken free would have been dropping deeper than Chelsea’s midfield lines or heading out to the wings: neither a place for a striker.
Cardiff stayed true to Neil Warnock’s promise and played a more expansive game. Their tactics worked well for the first 30 minutes, keeping Chelsea slightly pinned back and trailing for the first time this season. But after Eden Hazard equalized and the quality gap took over, Cardiff became the opponent Sarrismo and Chelsea’s No. 9 had been waiting for. It just so happened that Saturday was the day Olivier Giroud was the No. 9.
An alert winger will always benefit from Olivier Giroud more than Alvaro Morata. For all his love of shooting, Giroud is much more likely to flick a pass to either side if he does not have a solid angle on the shot. Perhaps Giroud’s reputation for bizarre angle goals (both the angle to the net and the angles of his own body) precedes him even among his own teammates. Eden Hazard seems to be the only Chelsea player who stays close enough to Giroud to pounce on those flicks and short passes.
Alvaro Morata will take the junk shot, and we’ll all have a groan, a laugh and a Fernando Torres comparison. Olivier Giroud will keep the play alive for anyone around him. Rather than sit back in expectation of a Giroud shot, Hazard stays in Giroud’s orbit in case the ball comes towards him. It’s as much about what Hazard does as what Giroud does.
Last season Alvaro Morata scored six goals from Cesar Azpilicueta’s passes. We don’t knock Giroud for not converting any Azpilicueta crosses of his own. We praise the Morata-Azpilicueta link-up as a unique concordance of two players’ ability and squad rapport. Likewise, Olivier Giroud’s assists on Eden Hazard’s goals are not a knock on Morata. They, too, are the product of the sort of unique understanding players of their calibre and time together should have.
Alvaro Morata would have benefited just as much from Cardiff’s spread-out defence and space behind lines. Perhaps if he had played the score would have still been 4-1, but he would have netted a goal or two of his own. The run of play was perfect for a long diagonal cross from Cesar Azpilicueta, or an arrow-like vertical pass for Morata to take on the turn and shoot from 15 yards. Or maybe he would have scuppered a raft of chances and this article would be wondering how many more tactical situations Chelsea need to face before Maurizio Sarri tries the French option at No. 9.
Who knows? It’s not like this is playing FIFA where we can just replay the game and find out. And that’s the point.
Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have always brought different options to the side. Antonio Conte learned this with Giroud first as a super sub and then as a starter, and now Maurizio Sarri is experimenting with his options as well. Neither player is better or worse. They are simply more or less suited to particular games against different opponents given different tactical situations.
The game against Cardiff worked in Olivier Giroud’s favour, not least because he was on the pitch. But the bases of comparison with Alvaro Morata’s performances this season are pretty weak, which makes the criticism of the Spaniard fall flat.
Chelsea are lucky to have variety across the pitch and in key roles. The most encouraging part is seeing Maurizio Sarri adapt his tactics to the depth and range of talent he has at his disposal.