Here is your Chelsea morning digest for Wednesday, December 16.
Former Arsenal man eyed Giroud reunion
Former Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has admitted that he tried to persuade Olivier Giroud to join him at French club Bordeaux last January, as the Chelsea striker looked to seal an exit from Stamford Bridge.
As the end of the window approached, Giroud was heavily linked with an exit from the west London club, with reports of a potential move to both Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United being spoken about.
However, Koscielny has now revealed that he tried to convince Giroud to be reunited with himself in the pair's homeland.
Koscielny said : "Yes, that's right. I tried. Oli didn't come and I totally respect his choice."
Giroud, in recent weeks, has established himself as a key player in Frank Lampard's squad at Stamford Bridge, scoring once again in last night's 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Lampard criticisies Blues players following Wolves reverse
Blues head coach Lampard criticised his players for failing to take instructions on board following last night's defeat to Wolves, suggesting that they played directly into the hands of Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Despite having fallen behind to a strike from Giroud just after half time, Wolves turned the game on its head thanks to goals from Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto, with the latter netting a 95th-minute winner.
The livewire led a quick counter-attack and buried a low shot out of the reach of Edouard Mendy to inflict a second successive defeat on the Blues.
"We didn’t play enough. It is pretty simple," Lampard said in his post-match press conference. "The threat from Wolves is clearly the counter attack and it is a major threat from what they have got.
"It is the main one because they have speed and quality in forward areas. The players knew it before the game, the players knew it in-game but we allowed some counter-attacks.
"If you are going to allow a team to play to their strengths then you may lose that game."
Scholes doubts Blues' title chances
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes believes Chelsea will fall short to Liverpool and Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title this season.
Scholes made the admission ahead of kick-off at Molineux last night, outlining his reasons why he believes Liverpool and City have the edge over Lampard's troops.
He told Amazon Prime: "I'm not sure, to be honest with you. I think they are a really good team and I think what Frank has done has been excellent over last season and this.
"But I think they will fall a little bit short of Liverpool and Manchester City. I still think they are the teams to beat.
"I still think he has a couple of issues [with the squad], I would say. Thaigo Silva has come in at 36 years of age. He is going to have to manage him carefully to get through games because he is going to want him to play in all the important games.
"There is no doubt that he has brought a solidness back to Chelsea along with the goalkeeper as well.
"Also, can [Tammy] Abraham and [Olivier] Giroud get that combination right up there?"
