When Chelsea fans welcome out their team at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, a number of them may well save some of their applause for one of the opposition.
Crystal Palace supporters gave an ovation to former loanee Conor Gallagher before he scored the Blues' winner against them at the weekend, and some of the Chelsea faithful will have similar love for Olivier Giroud. The French international left west London in 2021, after staying on the bench for the Champions League final victory over Manchester City, but will return as an AC Milan player for Wednesday's Group E clash.
Despite turning 36 in September, the striker is continuing to find the back of the net at the highest level. After becoming France's oldest-ever scorer, Giroud turns his attention back to European club football, even if a goal to prolong his former club's slow start might be bittersweet.
"I told my team-mates right now when we were walking around the pitch that I’m very proud to come here with the great Milan to play in the Champions League, to play in our colours and to defend our badge," Giroud said ahead of his Blues return. "It’s going to be an atmosphere completely worthy of a Champions League game. Chelsea have played in big games and won big games. But we’re ready for it."
The two teams are at opposite ends of Group E after two games. Chelsea sit bottom with just one point, after a defeat away to Dinamo Zagreb saw Thomas Tuchel sacked as manager, while Milan's victory over the Croatian champions sees them top the group with four points.
Giroud scored from the spot against Dinamo - one of six goals he has scored for club and country this season - and Chelsea know plenty about the threat posed by the former Arsenal man in Europe.
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While 15 of Giroud's 19 Milan goals have come in Serie A, it was a very different story in west London. He's already close to matching the 17 Premier League goals he notched for the Blues, but Giroud was far more productive in other competitions, where he was handed plenty of opportunities.
The highlight came in the 2018-19 Europa League run under Maurizio Sarri, when he scored 11 times, including a hat-trick away at Dynamo Kyiv and a goal in the final against former club Arsenal. That's more than anyone else managed in the competition, and comfortably more than the two he managed in 27 league outings.
At that point, Giroud didn't appear to be thinking about his long-term future. He had just reached 35 goals for his country, and his Chelsea contract was nearing its close.
"Who knows, maybe I could still catch up with Michel Platini on 41 – another six goals," he said during that Europa League run. "It is possible if I can stay in the team until the Euros, hoping that we qualify."
Not only has Giroud passed Platini's tally, but he's closing in on all-time leader Thierry Henry. A UEFA Nations League goal against Austria in September took him to 49, just two behind the former Arsenal and Barcelona star, and there's every chance he takes the overall lead at this year's World Cup.
Could he have done this without leaving Chelsea? It's hard to be certain, but the way things were going under Frank Lampard and Tuchel suggests it's unlikely.
He stuck around for the 2019-20 season, with the Blues' transfer ban ensuring they were unable to recruit in attack, and enjoyed his best campaign in terms of league goals for the club. However, his eight that season - at a rate of one for every 125 minutes on the pitch - didn't stop the club bringing in Timo Werner and Kai Havertz to limit his game-time even further.
"It is concerning because I believe I still have a role to play in the team especially after having a very good end to the last season and I contributed to qualifying for the Champions League," Giroud said in November 2020, having made just four substitute appearances in the league that season.
"I thought I could still help the team. It is true that my game time is reduced a lot. That has to change or I have to make a decision."
That decision ultimately came after the 2021 final. Giroud scored six goals in just 254 Champions League minutes in his last Chelsea season, but was left watching from the bench as Havertz scored the only goal in the final.
"People talk about my age but I still feel very good physically, even if I am obviously not playing a lot of matches," he told Telefoot during the season. "I still have a lot of desire and enthusiasm and I think what makes a career last longer is the mentality, the motivation and determination to always go further."
In just over a season at San Siro, he has been proved right. Giroud's goals last season helped the Rossoneri end an 11-year wait for a Serie A title, and two of them came in the final-day victory at Sassuolo which sealed top spot.
While Chelsea's fans retained a fondness for Giroud during his three-and-a-half years at the club, the same sadly wasn't true of a succession of managers. After scoring more league goals than any Chelsea striker last season and this campaign, he has another chance to remind his former club what they could have had.
