Giroud makes wordlie save to clutch AC Milan victory after goalkeeper sent off
Chelsea: Lampard says Giroud is ultimate professional
Olivier Giroud was forced to deputise as a makeshift goalkeeper for AC Milan against Genoa after Mike Maignan was sent off. The former Arsenal striker didn’t disappoint between the sticks, displaying nerves of steel with a last-gasp save to secure the result for the Rossoneri.
A late goal from Christian Pulisic had already put Milan one goal to the good by second-half stoppage time. But the chaos was only just getting started, with Maignan shown a straight red card for recklessly leaping out of his penalty area and taking out Caleb Ekuban.
Despite already going over the allotted seven added minutes, Giroud was called upon to take the goalkeeper’s place for the closing stages of the game. Immediately after the restart, Genoa hit the crossbar with a deflected free-kick.
In a stunning turn of events, opposition goalkeeper Josep Martinez was also sent off for a second bookable offence. And to close out the game in the 104th minute, Giroud was required to deal with a sweeping Genoa move that came within a whisker of levelling up the scores at 1-1.
With substitute George Puscas bearing down on goal, the Frenchman – decked out in a green goalkeeper jersey – came racing off his line and threw himseld at the ball, successfully thwarting the dangerous attack.
To add the cherry on top of the cake, Giroud then sprung back up to his feet and pounced on the ball to see AC Milan through to the final whistle with the narrow victory intact.
“I have never experienced a moment like this,” said the 37-year-old, who scored 90 goals in 255 Premier League matches for Arsenal and Chelsea. “I am very proud of this team: we fought until the end and I made a great save.
“We fought like lions and I’m very happy for these fans. Is the save on Puscas worth a goal? Almost. I didn’t know if Calabria was giving me the ball with their head, so I told myself to go instead of staying in goal. I felt that way and it was fine.
“Why me in goal? Because I’m the biggest in Italy, when I was little I liked being in goal. We never give up. We took a slap, but the next game is more important. We raised our heads and are first in the table. Will I keep this goalkeeper shirt? Sure, I’ll put it in a box.”
Giroud’s next opportunity to pull on the goalkeeper jersey will come against Juventus on October 22. But the Rossoneri are more likely to require his services up top, having started the season in fine form with seven goal contributions in seven Serie A appearances.
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