Stat shows how bizarre Giroud shun was from Lampard
Twenty-six crosses into the Arsenal penalty area – and not one of them was met by Olivier Giroud.
That was the reality for Chelsea at the Emirates this afternoon, with the Blues falling to a shock 3-1 defeat to their London rivals, who have been the disappointment of the Premier League season to date.
Chelsea looked clueless in attack at times, struggling to find an adequate final pass and instead flinging the ball into the box in the direction of Tammy Abraham, who already showed during the Tottenham stalemate that heading is not his forte.
Twenty-six times, to be precise. That’s how many times it was hoofed into the Arsenal box.
Chelsea attempted 26 crosses against open play today, the most any team has attempted in a PL game this season against Arsenal.
One paid off eventually. pic.twitter.com/VECk4B3ASH
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 26, 2020
The real question is, and it’s one that plenty of Chelsea fans will find themselves asking, if the game plan was to put Arsenal under pressure with balls into the box, why did Giroud not get a minute?
We’re talking about a man who has scored nine goals in his last nine appearances for club and country. One of the most effective on the planet when it comes to getting on the end of crosses.
Why, with Chelsea 2-0 down at half-time, did Jorginh o and Callum Hudson-Odoi come on, and then later Kai Havertz? It’s absolutely inexcusable from Lampard to have shunned him entirely today.
