When Tammy Abraham was ruled out of the Premier League clash against West Ham on Saturday afternoon thanks to an injury, Frank Lampard no doubt had a major headache on his hands as to how he would go about replacing the 11-goal ace.
Again everything on Lampard. Poor lineup at the beginning, there was no need for Pedro or Giroud
— Denzel Saturday (@kwamedenzel) November 30, 2019
In the end, the Chelsea manager opted for the battering ram style of Olivier Giroud, instead of Michy Batshuayi. And if Lampard thought the Frenchman could easily fill Abraham’s boots, then he was sorely mistaken.
In a disappointing defeat for the Blues, Giroud simply struggled to get into the game, and he certainly looked like a player who had played just six times across all competitions before Saturday.
As per Sofascore, he missed one big chance, made just eight accurate passes in the entire game, and had just 21 touches of the ball overall.
After watching his poor performance, Chelsea fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on Lampard’s decision to go with the misfiring 33-year-old up front.
Many supporters of the west London side suggested that their defeat against the Hammers was ultimately down to the manager’s awful team selection, and berated him for thinking Giroud could be the man to replace Abraham.