Wonderful goal from Giroud, are you proud of him and the team?
I’m not proud of it because I had nothing to do with it. So it was not my achievement.
I am super happy for my players and the team for such a big reward. We actually can read it on the score line that we have the result against top opponents.
It was very important that we are absolutely concentrated over all 96 minutes.
That we also accept that it’s very hard to create chances, but we did all that and it was a very good team effort.
If you can’t play the second leg in London, happy to come back to Bucharest?
First of all, I hope truly that we play at Stamford Bridge if it is possible. If we cannot play at Stamford Bridge then we will find a good solution that suits everybody and that is possible. I can tell you that it was a pleasure to be here.
Everyone was super friendly in the hotel and it was a perfect treat for us.
The stadium was amazing and the people around it did an amazing job to provide circumstances at the top level.
Did you save Olivier Giroud against Southampton for today’s game?
No, it was not [that we saved him for Atletico]. We thought long and hard about putting him in.
You are right, it was clearly a possibility that he starts against Southampton [after scoring versus Newcastle], then we analysed them and they are a very aggressive team and they press and play high up the pitch. So we expected more spaces behind the last line and we wanted more runs from deep.
I had only three changes because in our league it is only possible to have three changes. I wasn’t too happy in my decisions in the game against Southampton.
Maybe we missed the opportunity to bring him on at the end. But then I can say I saved him for today.
Mason Mount played well, will miss the second leg, how disappointing will it be to not have him for that?
And don’t forget also Jorginho, we will miss two crucial players, it makes things not easy for us.
But I am very happy with the performance of everybody, that includes Mason of course. Again, a good effort, a big effort, high workrate, high intensity like we are used to when he plays like this. He has a big impact on our team.
Honestly, we now play Man Utd, Everton, Liverpool and Leeds, it is good like this. We cannot get comfortable, we cannot get lazy. These games will push us to our limits, then we will think about our solutions for the second leg.
Surprised to see Giroud still do that at 34?
If you see him on a daily basis, you cannot be surprised. He is totally fit, his body is in shape and his physicality is on top level.
Mentally I have really the feeling he enjoys every day being a professional soccer player on this level and this is the level he needs to be.
He trains like a 20-year-old, like a 24-year-old. He is a guy who has a good mixture of seriousness and joy in training. He is always positive and it is a big factor for the group.
He starts, when he comes from the bench, he has all these qualities and it is good like this.