Thomas Tuchel has hailed his veteran forward, Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea beat Atletico Madrid on Tuesday off the back of an excellent overhead kick from the Frenchman.
“He deserves to start all the time!” acknowledged the boss. “He trains very well, he is a leader in the group, a big personality. Even when he has not started he deserves to start. I will not tell you now if we will let him play from the first minute!
“He is as fit as ever and you can rely on his physical impact in the game. It’s hard to play against him. He is used to playing a high rhythm, used to playing in the Premier League, and this helps him stay in this high level.
“He is very self-aware. He is in a fantastic mood every day, pushing everybody around him to win every little game we do in training, and being very positive with everybody around him. That didn’t change when he didn’t start for us or come off the bench.
“This is what in the end makes the difference for good players and big personalities, because for sure Oli is a big personality.”
Chelsea take on Manchester United next with strikers Tammy Abraham and Timo Werner pushing for starts as well.
READ MORE: Chelsea predicted line up vs Manchester United
