Three seasons with the Blues, 75 appearances embellished with 17 goals and a Champions League trophy. That’s the summary of Olivier Giroud’s successful spell at Chelsea, as the French veteran is returning to the iconic Stamford Bridge tonight, only this time in a different shirt.The 36-year-old will be one of the driving forces of Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan, who are looking to extend the series of excellent results in the elite competition.Former Chelsea and Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud switching from Italian to English and not realising. 😅pic.twitter.com/kV9uVFigPZ— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) October 5, 2022 Rossoneri are at the top of the log with four points after two games, while Graham Potter’s squad is facing a do-or-die situation, with only a single point on their account following a shocking loss to Dinamo Zagreb and a draw against RB Salzburg.Chelsea prepared to splash out 130 million pounds for everyone’s targetThe above-mentioned Giroud will probably be one of the keys to the game, as he knows the Blues’ defence quite well. His attacking partnership with emerging star Rafael Leao could prove crucial for tonight’s tie, and that’s not the only intriguing fact regarding those two forwards.AC Milan really want Rafael Leao to stay – and not even think of other clubsJust like Giroud, Leao could possibly see himself playing for both Chelsea and Milan, only the other way around. According to The Athletic, Chelsea had previously made a move to ink Leao, but it was rejected…The champions remain true when it matters: Rafael Leao and old boy Giroud shine in Derby winOne was packaging Christian Pulisic into a deal for Leao. But it never appealed, and what Chelsea were prepared to pay fell way short of Leao’s €150million buy-out clause. Maldini made a simple and respectful recommendation: don’t even go to the trouble of tabling a bid. He confirmed as much before Milan’s last Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb. “Officially, a written offer from Chelsea never arrived. An informal one did,” he explained to Mediaset. “Naturally, it was rejected.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##After Wednesday night, the Blues will maybe provide the Italians with a much more lucrative offer they’d be mad to reject. It all depends on Leao and his ‘partner in crime’ Olivier Giroud.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUEGroup stage, matchday 3TuesdayBayern Munich – Plzen 5-0 (3-0)/Sane 7,50, Gnabry 13, Mane 21, Choupo-Moting 59/Marseille – Sporting 4-1 (3-1)/Sanchez 13, Harit 16, Balerdi 28, Mbemba 84 – Trincao 1/Ajax – Napoli 1-6 (1-3)/Kudus 9 – Raspadori 18,47, Di Lorenzo 33, Zielinski 45, Khvicha 63, Simeone 81/Liverpool – Rangers 2-0 (1-0)/TAA 7, Salah 53/Club Brugge – Atl. Madrid 2-0 (1-0)/Sowah 36, Jutgla 62/Porto – Leverkusen 2-0 (0-0)/Sanusi 69, Galeno 86/Inter – Barcelona 1-0 (1-0)/Calhanoglu 45+2/Eintracht Frankfurt – Tottenham 0-0Wednesday19.45: (1.75) Salzburg (3.70) Dinamo Zagreb (5.40)19.45: (1.60) RB Leipzig (4.10) Celtic (6.25)22.00: (1.75) Chelsea (3.70) Milan (5.40)22.00: (1.20) Real Madrid (7.75) Shakhtar (16.0)22.00: (1.05) Man.City (14.0) Copenhagen (35.0)22.00: (2.95) Sevilla (3.40) Dortmund (2.55)22.00: (4.90) Benfica (4.00) PSG (1.75)22.00: (1.30) Juventus (6.00) Maccabi Haifa (11.0)***odds are subject to change
