Olivier Giroud proves his worth to Lampard by scoring brilliant game-winning header to send Chelsea into the Champions League knockout stage

Olivier Giroud proved his worth on Tuesday after he came off the bench to score a towering header and win Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Rennes.

After starting on the bench, Frank Lampard sent the Frenchman on in place of Tammy Abraham with the aim of getting a second goal for Chelsea.

Following Callum Hudson-Odoi’s early opener, Chelsea were pegged back by late equaliser from Sehrou Guirassy, which would have delayed their plans of reaching the knockout stages.

However, with just a couple of minutes of injury time left on the clock, Giroud made his telling contribution after he leaped high in the air to head in a last-gasp winner and send Chelsea into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The goal comes after Giroud has once again found himself on the fringes of Lampard’s plans, leaving him to think about a move away from Stamford Bridge in January to get regular minutes in order to secure selection for France at next summer’s Euros.

While Lampard opted to start Abraham on Tuesday, the Chelsea boss admitted Giroud’s goal has given him food for thought going forward.

Chelsea great Joe Cole was full of praise for Giroud after the match and believes the World Cup winner doesn’t get the credit he deserves.

‘I think he’s (Giroud) one of the Premier League’s most underrated players, he consistently performs whether it be for Arsenal or Chelsea,’ Cole told BT Sport.

‘It’s not just moments like today such as getting the winning goal, it’s his general demeanour around the place, he’s a good player in the dressing room.

‘There’s a reason why Didier Deschamps relies on him for France. Frank will not want Giroud walking out of the door in January.

‘It was a great header from Giroud. That was amazing.’

‘He does things like that but I thought his hold-up play and physicality when he came on was very good,’ Lampard told BT Sport after the game. ‘I have a problem, I have Tammy (Abraham) who’s playing well, Oli who contributes in that way – he’s incredible.

‘I have two players in a similar position.

‘Oli will get his minutes because we have a busy schedule and we play every few days. I think when you see the reaction when you see something like that shows how much it means to the team.’