Chelsea's Olivier Giroud: I had something to prove against Southampton

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Vaishali Bhardwaj14 April 2018

Olivier Giroud admits he had a point to prove against Southampton, and expressed his delight at scoring his first Premier League goals for Chelsea in their comeback win at St Mary's on Saturday.

Chelsea were trailing by two goals when Antonio Conte decided to haul off Alvaro Morata for Giroud in the 61st minute - which paid off after the Frenchman scored either side of Eden Hazard's strike to help the Blues secure a remarkable 3-2 comeback win at St Mary's Stadium.

The goals were Giroud's first in the Premier League since signing for Chelsea in January, and the 31-year-old admitted after the win just how much he had wanted to prove his critics wrong.

"Yeah, obviously I was waiting for it - I tried so many times to put the ball in the back of the net," Giroud told Sky Sports.

"When you are a striker, you must keep going. I really wanted the team to bounce back in the second half. The beginning was not what we wanted or expected but in football, you always have the opportunity to bounce back.

"We showed great character and team spirit."

When then asked if he felt he had something to prove to his critics, Giroud replied: "Yeah. I used to say football is an everlasting, new beginning. You must always push yourself.

"The most important thing is to show some character. I have been through difficulties in my career, other times I tried to come back stronger. And it happened today.

"The second goal... the most important thing is even if you concede one or two you never give up.

"I'm very proud of what we did today.

"When I came on, I said to Eden to keep believing. I didn't tell him we were going to score, but I believed after the first goal we scored. It's very nice for the team."

Chelsea now trail fourth-placed Tottenham by seven points although Spurs host Manchester City later on Saturday.

And Giroud added on Chelsea's top-four hopes: "As long as mathematically it's possible, we will believe. We have five or six finals to play. Let's do the job."

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