Olivier
Giroud continued his excellent Europa League form with a hat-trick against
Dynamo Kiev as Chelsea won 5-0 in Ukraine to seal an 8-0 aggregate victory.
Giroud has only found the net once in 20 Premier League appearances this
season, but it has been an altogether different story in Europe.
His hat-trick took him to nine Europa League goals in nine games, making him
the top scorer in the competition as Chelsea head into the last eight.
Giroud got his first goal of the night in the early stages at the Kiev
Olympic Stadium, firing home from close range after Ruben Loftus-Cheek had
flicked on Willian's corner.
The Frenchman doubled Chelsea's advantage - and his own tally - when he
finished coolly from Marcos Alonso's low cross later in the first half, and
he completed his hat-trick after the break, heading home another Willian
delivery.
With nine goals in the competition, Giroud is one ahead of Red Bull
Salzburg's Munas Dabbur andSevilla's Wissam Ben Yedder, with Eintracht
Frankfurt's Luka Jovic next on seven.
Giroud's
headed third goal against Dynamo Kiev made it a perfect hat-trick following
his left-footed opener and right-footed second, and it also represented his
second treble in European competition after he scored three times for
Arsenal in a Champions League clash with Olympiakos in December 2015.
Giroud's prolific European form is good news for Chelsea as they seek an
alternative route into next season's Champions League. Gonzalo Higuain
remains first choice in the Premier League, but Giroud is certainly making a
strong case for more chances.
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