Olivier Giroud stars in the blue of Chelsea when he could have been lining up in the white of Tottenham

If things had gone as Olivier Giroud had planned, he could have been leading the line for Tottenham this afternoon, instead of enjoying redemption in a Chelsea shirt.

The World Cup winner was the forgotten man in west London. Desperate for a move away last month but left on the fringes after deals with Inter Milan and Spurs never materialised.

With Tammy Abraham not fit enough to start, Giroud was rewarded for his performance off the bench against Manchester United on Monday with just a third Premier League start of the season. Michy Batshuayi was left out of the 18 altogether.

Giroud offered Lampard everything his Belgian teammate lacked on Monday. The Frenchman was a constant pain for Tottenham’s back three and brought Mason Mount and Ross Barkley to life as he dropped in to bring them into play. Most importantly, he moved Chelsea ahead with a finish any striker in world football would be proud of after 15 minutes.

Abraham will undoubtedly return to being Lampard’s first choice when he is fully fit once more, but having had so little confidence in the depth of his attacking options, Lampard should now feel his squad has a bit more bite about it.

As well as finding some form in their strikers, Chelsea seem to now be feeling the benefit of the winter break. Having tailed off completely before the two week hiatus, Mount is looking revived. He showed flashes against Manchester United but was back to his best here.

Chelsea are a far better side when the young England midfielder is fired up and at his best, he carries the ball through midfield quicker than any of his teammates and has a touch of creative flair which can turn defenders inside out.

The race for the top four is certainly not over, Chelsea’s form over Christmas ensured that, but the Blues have made a statement this afternoon and will want to carry that momentum into Wednesday’s tie with Bayern Munich.

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