Chelsea thrashed Everton at Stamford Bridge 4-0 on Sunday afternoon as the Blues continue to maintain there top 4 spot in the premier league.
However, There was a moment late in the first half of Sunday’s comfortable win over Everton when Frank Lampard bellowed “Oli, Oli” in the direction of Kurt Zouma.
The France centre back had just received possession from Kepa Arrizabalaga and his action was to play a long pass to his compatriot Olivier Giroud, who headed it down towards an already sprinting Willian. This particular move broke down but it was one of several occasions that either Zouma or his centre back partner Toni Rudiger sought to find the focal point of Chelsea’s attack from range.
It was a key indicator that, with the veteran striker in the team, Frank Lampard’s side are playing more directly. But the statistics indicate that while Giroud’s inclusion changes how Chelsea play it is not simply a case of playing long balls to the big man up top.
Statistically the number of long passes made in games featuring Giroud are roughly on par with matches in which he has not played.
Chelsea have averaged around 42 per match throughout the campaign, according to Wyscout, with an insignificant fluctuation when comparing games where the 33-year-old has played to those in which Tammy Abraham (or even Michy Batshuayi) had featured.
The key difference is that Giroud is so much more effective at bringing others in to play with a knockdown or holding the ball up when it is passed to his feet.
He may not provide as much of a goal threat as Abraham – his xG per 90 minutes is 0.33 compared to the England striker’s 0.62 – but as a target man there is an indisputable difference. Perhaps most striking is the difference between the number of passes made, with Giroud averaging 22.31 compared to Abraham’s 13.46. The Frenchman’s completion rate is also 6% higher.
Giroud is receiving 14.6 passes per 90 minutes compared to Abraham’s 9.4 and while he averages only one extra aerial duel per game the percentage he wins is much higher – 45% compared to 31.8%. That places a greater emphasis on the wingers either side timing their runs to get on to the end of his passes, while the Everton win also saw Mason Mount and Ross Barkley get forward to provide additional support.
Earlier in the campaign Lampard pointedly referenced a lack of goals from those in wide areas and midfield. But Giroud’s hold-up strengths have given those a bigger outlet and since he picked up the starting role those contributions from elsewhere have been clear for all to see.