Olivier Giroud explains why he joined Milan from Chelsea and reveals the Rossoneri’s targets this season.
The French striker moved to San Siro in a €1m deal from Chelsea over the summer, signing a two-year contract with the Serie A giants.
The 34-year-old has scored two goals in four appearances across all competitions so far this season.
“It was an obvious choice to join Milan. I supported this club when I was younger, the teams with Papin, Van Basten and Baresi. I am proud to have joined this club and I hope to have fun here,” the former Chelsea star told Telefoot.
“The welcome I received was wonderful. I was welcomed as in a family. I made a great debut, there I feel very good and I’m hungry to win with Milan,” he added.
The Frenchman was drafted in as a bac-up for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but he is now getting regular playing time as the Swedish striker is recovering from an injury.
“Zlatan is a legend and there will be a real competition between us,” Giroud claimed.
“I can score at least 15 goals, that’s what I hope. If I play every game, that’s what I expect.”
But which are Milan’s targets this season? Can they win the Serie A title after returning to the Champions League?
“I hope so, we have the quality and young players. It’s a clear target we have,” the former Arsenal and Chelsea star admitted.
“I liked the Premier League, but at some point, I had to make a decision. I told Tuchel that the last three months had been too difficult.
“It was an obvious choice to leave Chelsea, I moved on with great emotion for all the moments we lived. Some were good, some others not as much, but we won three important titles.”
Mikel Arteta makes one change to the side that started at Turf Moor eight days ago.
The Arsenal coach welcomes back Granit Xhaka after a three-match suspension as the Swiss midfielder replaces Nicholas Pepe.
It’s likely to trigger a slight change in setup with Xhaka likely to play alongside Thomas Partey, the one survivor from the midweek win over Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup.
It now looks like a 4-2-3-1 shape for the Gunners with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe playing behind captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and two of the Gunners’ back four in Takehiro Tomyasu and Ben White are set to face Tottenham for the first time since moving to the Emirates.
Meanwhile, Spurs youngster Japhet Tanganga will make his first appearance in the North London derby, having been an unused substitute for the clubs’ clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last term.
It’s three changes for Spurs and Nuno Espirito Santo after defeat to Chelsea a week ago.
Two come in defence where Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez are favoured over the benched pair of Emerson Royal and Cristian Romero while Lucas Moura is back from injury and is selected ahead of Giovani Lo Celso.
It’s the same midfield trio of Tanguy Ndombele, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Dele Alli for the visitors, who will again line-up in a 4-3-3 shape.
Replaced Kepa after returning for injury and in the first-half was very commanding from corner kicks.
Rooted to the spot for Jesus’ opener after a wicked deflection took it past Chelsea’s No1, who made some big saves afterwards.
Reece James – 5 Frustrating afternoon for the England international, who came off injured on 29 minutes and was replaced by Thiago Silva.
Heading into Chelsea’s Champions League trip to Juventus on Wednesday, James joins Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic as a doubt.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 5 Shifted to wing-back after James’ injury, the Spaniard was not able to get forward as much as he would have liked, with Grealish down City’s left.
Chelsea could have done with James’ attacking presence especially with the runs Werner was making but with no support.
Andreas Christensen – 7 Had the trouble of marking Jack Grealish and did a good job staying tight to the Three Lions’ fan-favourite, who craves space to work with.
Another good performance by the academy graduate, who is becoming increasingly better with the ball at his feet.
Antonio Rudiger – 6 Played left of the back three so spent most of his time tracking and keeping tabs on Jesus, especially when the Brazilian sneaked in behind.
Rushed in at times towards the end as Chelsea chased a goal but was well supported by Silva.
Marcos Alonso – 4 One to forget for the Spaniard who was caught in possession a few times early on and it took 55 minutes for his first meaningful cross.
Despite a good start to the season, Ben Chilwell would have watched from the bench with confidence his place on the left is not all lost.
N’Golo Kante – 6 It was shades of Maurizio Sarri’s reign and Frank Lampard’s early start as Chelsea boss for Kante, who played right of a midfield three.
The Frenchman was coming into life in the second half before he was brought off for Kai Havertz, to give a more attacking edge.
Jorginho – 6 Could not do much to prevent Jesus from swivelling and getting his shot off to put City in the lead, after a deflection put it past Mendy.
Acted as the deep-lying midfielder but was not given the time and space he likes to pick out passes and was often camped back helping his defenders.
Mateo Kovacic – 6 Golden chance to put either Werner or Havertz through on the 68th minute but his left-footed pass was just intercepted despite his urgency to break.
Full of energy but missed the final ball to really put Chelsea away which summed up Chelsea’s frustrations.
Timo Werner – 5 The German was very active on the left wing and often got in behind but lacked the confidence on the ball to really skip past or beat City defenders.
Werner never stopped making himself available on the flanks but failed to produce and often slowed the attack down before offloading the ball.
Romelu Lukaku – 5 Struggled in parts as he found himself isolated down the middle with Werner drifting out wide and no midfielder in an advanced role.
Clear Lukaku will profit more with two attackers either side of him opposed to Werner as a partner with the forward often left with little support.
SUBS Thiago Silva (on for James) – 7 Super block off the line on the hour mark as Mendy tipped it out but only to the feet of Jesus, whose effort was cleared by the veteran defender.
Kai Havertz (on for Kante) – 6 The German, who scored Chelsea’s winner against City in the Champions League final, will feel he should have started, and his bright performance from the left means he could return against Juve.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (on for Jorginho) – 7 The playmaker was an immediate impact and had plenty of pace and power from midfield, trying to carry Chelsea up field and made his mark as a contender in Chelsea’s midfield.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel singled out Ruben Loftus-Cheek for his performance in the Blues first defeat in the Premier League this season.
Gabriel Jesus’ second half goal handed the Manchester City all the three points in the clash at Stamford Bridge, with the match ending in 1-0 in favour of the visitors.
Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, was brought on as a second-half substitute as Chelsea pushed for an equaliser.
And the 25-year-old, who was expected to leave Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window, delivered an encouraging performance at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield.
When asked what his plan was for Loftus-Cheek after Chelsea’s defeat to City, Tuchel told Stadium Astro: “He decides what the plans are.
“He got minutes against Zenit, in the [Carabao] Cup, and now here [against Manchester City].
“He’s a different type of player. He’s not a passing player, he’s a dribbler, a runner who drives the ball. This could be very helpful against City.
A very frustrated Thomas Tuchel has pinpointed where his team went wrong, stating that his players were ‘too fearful’ against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea surrendered all the three points at stake to the Pep Guardiola-tutored side.
The west London club could not match the Premier League champions, without any single shot on target for the duration of the match.
Tuchel said: “We changed formation a little bit at half time that should help us have a bit closer of a connection in passing and maybe be a bit more active for high pressing.
“But in general it’s not a question of formation, it’s a question of being active and of principles – how to defend and where to defend.
“It is also about individual performance. You have to escape pressure individually, you have to be sharp with your first touch, to escape and switch play. We lacked quality today, individually. It’s as simple as that.
“Also in the belief and in general and the movement, we were too static and it was too fearful.”
Neymar’s ex-girlfriend Natalia Barulich appeared to take a slight dig at the Brazilian in an Instagram post.
Barulich, 29, and Neymar dated for a few months before breaking up earlier this year.
The pair met in Paris when Reggaeton singer Maluma – who also dated Barulich – performed at Neymar’s birthday party.
But both Neymar and Barulich have now moved on, with the Paris Saint-Germain star now rumoured to be dating Bruna Biancardi.
Last month the 29-year-old was spotted taking Biancardi to dinner alongside his new team-mate Lionel Messi and his wife Antonella.
As for Barulich, she apparently knows what to avoid when looking for a partner after her experience with Neymar.
In response to an Instagram follower asking her if she misses any of her former partners, Barulich wrote: “No. I will always have love for the few I’ve shared a relationship with.
“But those are all just stories now in my book of life. I’m so grateful for every experience shaping me into the woman I am right now.
“Now we keep moving forward and growing knowing exactly what I want and do not want for my life.”
Manchester City came out on top in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the Premier League season so far and deservedly so.
The Cityzens came flying out the blocks conjuring up huge amounts of possession and not allowing Chelsea to play their game.
However, shots on target was missing from the first 45 minutes and when you consider the masses of talent on the field at the time, it was hard to believe.
Whatever Thomas Tuchel said to his side at half-time stuck in their brains because the hosts came out in the second half with a point to prove.
City still controlled a lot of the ball but Chelsea looked much more threatening than they did in the entirety of the first half.
But the dominance of Pep side eventually paid off when Mendy watched Gabriel Jesus’ deflected shot roll past him into the back of the net.
As the Chelsea gaffer said, Chelsea pushed hard for the equaliser but it was leaving gaps at the back and if it wasn’t for some outstanding saves from Mendy, City could have left Stamford Bridge with more than one goal.
Pep and City finally get one over Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea on their fourth attempt but let’s see what happens when the sides meet again at the Etihad later on in the season.
Gabriel Jesus praised Chelsea in his post-match press conference whilst illustrating his delight of winning the game.
Jesus ended Chelsea’s unbeaten start to the season as Man City won 1-0 in west London.
The visitors were in dominant form and had chances to make the points safe with a flurry of chances, Jesus and Jack Grealish both going close to a second, but they had already done enough to seal the points.
The Brazilian later admitted that his goal was lucky.
Jesus’ good luck charm continued because every time the Brazilian scores a Premier League goal, Manchester City never lose.
The Man City forward told BTSport the match: “We came to play against one of the best teams in Europe – The European Champions. They play so good, they have a lot of amazing players.
“We knew it was going to be difficult for us coming here on their own but yes we played so good and won the game.
“I never think I can turn properly because sometimes it’s difficult to play with your back. But I turned good and I can shoot and it was a little bit lucky but I am happy to score that goal.”
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed how he picked Pep Guardiola’s brain when he was a rookie youth team coach in Germany.
Tuchel is now the finished article and led the Blues to a famous Champions League victory last season – in a final against Guardiola’s City.
Their Premier League title chasing sides will square off again in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off at Stamford Bridge.
And Tuchel remains respectful but far from overawed by ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss Pep, who is regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
Tuchel said: “Let’s just say he taught me lessons about football. I started with the very first weeks with him at Barcelona.
“When he started I was a youth coach and I had the chance to be a professional coach so I had things to learn.
“It was an honour to speak to him and have the chance to hear his beliefs.
“Is it like I go home and the next day I am a different coach with my team? No. I am not a fanboy! I am simply impressed.
“I am grateful and believe it or not I’m happy that I am at a club that if we play at our very best level can compete with Pep’s team.
“This is good because it means you are in a good place as a coach.
Tuchel, who has beaten Guardiola in their last three meetings, added: “It does not take a miracle to win against Manchester City but it’s absolutely necessary to bring out the best performance.
“It’s one of the biggest tests in European football. It’s in our stadium and we feel ready.
“But let’s be honest, if we win we won’t be crowned as champions, and if they win they won’t be crowned champions leaving us in depression.
“He beat me I think four times in a row so I had to also deal with it and come back from it.
“Nobody likes it. We hate to lose and when we have to accept it, it’s a challenge to swallow it.”
