Chelsea bounced back from Saturday’s disappointing 3-0 loss at the hands of Sheffield United to secure a vital 1-0 win over Norwich City last night.
The relegated visitors had nothing to play for, but they proved hard to break down despite the Blues’ dominance, with goalkeeper Tim Krul thwarting most of the hosts’ efforts.
Chelsea secured the opener through a brilliant Olivier Giroud header in the closing minutes of the first-half, and that was enough to seal valuable three points.
The victory further boosted their chances of playing in the Champions League next term, with four points now between them and the chasing duo of Leicester City and Manchester United, who both play on Thursday.
Chelsea play Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers next in the league and they will hope to secure all six points as that will guarantee playing in Europe’s elite competition in 2020-21.
Giroud was the hero last night, and his sixth goal in his eighth Premier League start for Chelsea this season could prove very crucial.
The Frenchman was behind Tammy Abraham when the campaign started and wasn’t even getting playing minutes at a time.
He has now scored in three successive Premier League starts for the first time since January 2017, and BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker was in awe of his performance against the Canaries, reacting thus to it on Twitter:
I’ve always felt that @_OlivierGiroud_ is underrated. Excellent all-round centre-forward’s game. Hold up play, movement in the box, finishing is all top class. Might lack a yard of pace of the greats, but doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 14, 2020
