Three big questions: Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud and the exponential

2. Is simply improving his teammates enough if he isn’t scoring?

Strikers have to score. That is, at the end of the day, their job. Giroud’s return of 28 goals in 88 Chelsea appearances is good, but not quite what a team with silverware aspirations needs. Adding the 14 assists makes it a much better looking 42 goal contributions in 88.

That being said, stats do not pick up just how much Giroud improves his teammates. The wingers in particular benefit from Giroud pinning defenders in and opening up space for them. Look no further than Christian Pulisic’s explosive form after the restart which coincided with Giroud starting.

Adding those goals and assists that he may not be statistically involved in but that he played a role in nonetheless raises Giroud’s contributions exponentially. That is not even a new phenomenon. Before Pulisic, there was Eden Hazard claiming Giroud was the best target man in the world. France won the World Cup with the big Frenchman up top despite him not recording a single goal himself. Giroud is naturally able to improve his teammates without having to be a standout himself.

Looping back, however, strikers have to score. Improving everyone else is a fantastic trait to have, but ultimately, he has to put it in the back of the net himself to continue starting. With Timo Werner coming in and Tammy Abraham hopefully returning to fitness, Giroud will have much more competition on that front. If the team is winning and the wingers are scoring, Giroud can be safe. But if not, Lampard will start looking at the man up to for answers.

Giroud’s already defied odds this season, but can he do so again next season? Time will tell.