Olivier Giroud hailed Milan’s ‘energy’ and team spirit after a thrilling 3-2 win over rivals Inter. ‘I was never worried’ Rafael Leao would leave for Chelsea, he assured.
It was a fantastic game at San Siro, as Marcelo Brozovic pounced on a defensive error to give Inter the lead, but Rafael Leao scored two around his assist for the Olivier Giroud flick to turn it around.
“We wanted to celebrate all together, we have a fantastic group with a wonderful team spirit and great cohesion,” Giroud told DAZN.
“We’ve got many young players, but every day it is a pleasure to work with these talents. There is so much energy, we had to celebrate at the end!”
Edin Dzeko came off the bench to get his men back into it and only a sensational Mike Maignan save prevented Hakan Calhanoglu making it 3-3.
“When it was 3-1 up, we had to kill off the game, but in the end Dzeko made it 3-2. We did well to hold out at the end, it was a great performance from our defenders, everyone worked hard to ensure we didn’t leave spaces between the lines, because we saw what damage Inter could do.”
Leao was wanted by Chelsea to the last day of the transfer window, but Milan stood firm even with reported bids close to €100m.
The Portuguese talent had not scored in the Milan Derby before this, but made up for the delay by having a hand in all three goals.
“I was not worried about him. I knew he would remain here,” smiled Giroud.
All the players celebrated after their goals and at the final whistle with Alessandro Florenzi’s jersey, as he has just sustained a serious injury.
“It is Flo’s shirt, he got hurt and I think he will be back with us after the World Cup, so we send him a big hug.”