Giroud shines as Milan ease past Roma | OneFootball

Olivier Giroud was at the peak of his powers Sunday evening as Milan breezed past Roma to close the gap on Juventus to four points for now.

Scorers: Alid 11′, Giroud 57′, Hernández 83′ ; Paredes (P) 68′

It was one-way traffic in the early going as Milan looked to play on the front-foot and take the game to their visitors from the start.

They got the break they were looking for when the ball fell to Yacine Adli inside the box, and the midfielder fired home a sweet shot to give the hosts the lead.

Like the first, the second-half played out in a similar fashion as Milan looked for the all-important second goal to put themselves out of touching distance from a struggling for form as of late.

Their efforts were rewarded before the hour-mark when Olivier Giroud headed home from close range, and despite protests from the Roma players over a potential foul in the box, the goal stood and the home side had their two-goal lead.

The balance of the tie was potentially flipped on its head with just under 25 minutes remaining when Roma were awarded a penalty, which was coolly dispatched by Leandro Paredes to cut the lead.

A comeback was taken off the cards for the visitors inside the last 10 minutes when Olivier Giroud picked out Theo Hernández with a superb back-hell pass, and the defender leathered his shot in off the crossbar to double Milan’s lead and ensure they wrapped up the victory.

The loss means that Roma now sit with just one victory against a team in the top-half of the Serie A table this season.