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Thomas Tuchel paid tribute to the professionalism of veteran forward Olivier Giroud after an acrobatic aerial kick from the forward ensured Chelsea a vital victory over Atlético Madrid.
Giroud challenged his 34-year-old to score with an impressive bike kick to give the Blues a first leg lead heading into next month’s second leg.
And Tuchel said, ‘If you see it daily, you can’t be surprised. His body is in shape, his physique is top-notch. Enjoy every day of being a professional footballer. Train like a 24-year-old.
“He’s the guy who has a good mix of being serious and enjoying training.
“It is always positive and it is an important factor for the group. When he starts or leaves the bench, he has all the qualities ”.
On his team’s crucial victory, the Blues boss added: ‘I am super happy for my players and the team that we have such a great reward and can read it on the scoreboard, that we have a superior result for performance.
“It was very important that we were absolutely focused during the 96 minutes, that we accept that it is very difficult to create chances, we did all that and it was a very good team effort.
“But now we play Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Leeds and it’s good that way. We cannot be too comfortable, we cannot be lazy.
“These games will push us to the limit and then we will think of solutions for the second game against Atlético (three weeks today).”
Giroud added: ‘I don’t know what to think about the goal. I just tried to focus on hitting the ball well.
“ I love the kicks from above and I was happy to see the ball hit the back of the net.
“We came here with strong intentions to win, we analyzed their game and we knew how we could cause problems for them.
‘We have been very strong behind. We are very happy, we had the best chances and we deserved to win.
“We know the importance of home goals, so I was very happy to help the team win.”
Last night’s clash was played in Bucharest due to Covid restrictions, and there are questions about whether Chelsea will be able to host the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
First of all, I hope we really play at Stamford Bridge if possible. If we cannot play at Stamford Bridge, we will find a good solution that suits everyone and is possible, ”added Tuchel.
Chelsea midfielders Mason Mount and Jorginho will miss the second leg after being booked and Tuchel said: “We miss two crucial players and that makes things not easy for us.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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