AC Milan star Olivier Giroud shares his ‘hope’ for Charles De Ketelaere against Tottenham Hotspur. The Rossoneri beat Spurs 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie.
Brahim Diaz scored the only goal of the San Siro affair after just seven minutes on February 14. The forward headed home past Fraser Forster following the goalkeeper’s initial save to deny Theo Hernandez and the Spaniard. But De Ketelaere wasted his chance for a second.
The Belgian let Spurs off the hook for the north London natives’ lack of creativity. He sent a great chance wide of the post straight after coming on as a 77th-minute substitute. Giroud had flicked the ball onto De Ketelaere with the goal at his mercy only to head the ball wide.
Malick Thiaw would also head wide of Forster’s net from just six yards out while unmarked right after De Ketelaere. The two spurned chances astounded Giroud as AC Milan failed to improve their advantage over Tottenham. Both chances seemed easier to score than miss.
AC Milan will now visit Tottenham for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie only leading 1-0 on March 8. Yet Spurs would have felt fortunate to have left San Siro only one goal behind. Eric Dier had, arguably, Tottenham’s best attempt from a small selection.
Olivier Giroud hopes Charles De Ketelaere scores when AC Milan visit Tottenham
Giroud has now told DAZN Italy that he hopes De Ketelaere can forget about his miss from the first leg when AC Milan visit Tottenham in the Champions League. The former Arsenal forward is desperate to see the Belgian succeed after denying him a debut Rossoneri goal.
“After the header against Tottenham, I embraced him,” Giroud said, via Sport Mediaset. “It is in these difficult moments that we must show our support to our teammates.
“Now, he lacks confidence and spontaneity – he needs a goal to change everything. I also wanted him to score because against Sampdoria they disallowed a goal for my offside. It’s my fault if he hasn’t cleared his head yet. I hope he scores in London against Tottenham.”
AC Milan paid Club Brugge €32m (£27m), plus €3m (£2.5m) in add-ons, for De Ketelaere in August. He has since played 27 times with the Serie A side across all competitions for 1,100 minutes. But the 21-year-old is yet to score his first goal and has only registered one assist.
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