Heading into Milan’s visit to Tottenham for the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, Gazzetta dello Sport has detailed Olivier Giroud’s record when playing against teams in London.
Giroud is likely to play the role of pantomime villain when the Rossoneri walk out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening, due to his six-year spell with bitter rivals Arsenal between 2012-18.
The 36-year-old then moved across the city to join Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri in 2018, remaining at Stamford Bridge until his move to the Giuseppe Meazza in 2021.
Until now and factoring in his nine-year stint in the English capital, Giroud has played against other teams from London 32 times, with a perfectly divided record: 13 wins, 13 defeats and six stalemates.
Giroud has lined up against Tottenham on 19 occasions, more than any other club he has faced throughout his career.
In his games against Spurs, the Frenchman has scored four times, twice with Arsenal and twice during his spell at Chelsea.
The record against Spurs in knockout matches reads well for Giroud as well, having gone through on two of the three times he has played them in elimination games, both of which came in the League Cup.
Giroud is currently Milan’s leading scorer in the Champions League this season on four goals, two of which came at home against Salzburg in the group stages, the other two coming home and away against Zagreb.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic not included in the Rossoneri’s Champions League squad and Ante Rebic, Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere struggling in front of goal, Stefano Pioli will be hoping Giroud can replicate some of his good fortune against Spurs.
France’s all-time top goalscorer trained with the squad before flying out to London on Tuesday morning, having missed Monday’s session with illness. He is expected to be involved on Wednesday evening.
The all-important decider between Milan and Tottenham kicks off at 20:00 GMT.