Olivier Giroud admitted he was angry and frustrated following Milan’s 2-2 draw with Napoli, but he ‘respects’ Stefano Pioli. The Rossoneri raced into a 2-0 lead in Naples last night, with Giroud both goals before being substituted in the 81′ minute. The Frenchman was visibly upset at being benched and sat alone at the side of the pitch before the final whistle was blown.
Speaking with Sky Sport, Giroud admitted to being angry at having to come off, but explained that he respected the choice of Pioli:
“On a personal level I am happy for the two goals. I had two nice crosses from my teammates. However, I am disappointed with the result, we had the opportunity to win the game, we had many chances, we lacked concreteness to close it”.
“Napoli reacted after a great first half on our part. We knew the second half would be more difficult. After the first goal they regained confidence, but we could have done better”.
“My angry response? I am a man, not a robot. I have emotions. I was disappointed because I was convinced I could still give the team a hand, but I respect the coach’s choice. Then I calmed down. I always want the best for my team. I was frustrated because we had to win this game.”
“Scoring is never easy. We created many chances against Newcastle and Dortmund, but we were not concrete. Today we reacted after the last two defeats, we created a lot. We could have scored four or five goals. I feel good, I still had energy even in the last minutes, that’s why I wanted to stay on the pitch.”
“After 2-1, Napoli gained confidence, the stadium pushed them. It was the turning point of their match. The foul on the free kick was a bit generous. They deserved it, they pushed until the end. In the end we could have won it. I think it was a good game to watch.
