Player Review
86 - Award Winner
Olivier Giroud. Where to start?
Most magnificent beard in professional football? Check.
Sexiest man in professional football? Check.
Puskas award for an insane goal? Check.
Cheapest icon in FIFA 18? Check.
He's ticking all the boxes. Used him in 20 games so far and boy is he something. I've mostly played him as a CF behind Mbappé in a 4-4-1-1 with Martial and Ousmane Dembélé on the wings and Matuidi and Tolisso in midfield. It seems to fit my playstyle really well, a bit slower play based on possession and quality finishing. Before Giroud's hero card was released I tried his regular card in the CF spot and he scored 46 goals for me in 72 matches and racked up 24 assists. I've also tried Benzema (who was absolutely atrocious) and Fekir (decent) as CF's but I always seem to come back around to Giroud. I use him with a marksman chemstyle to boost his already high dribbling, shooting and physical. His dribbling is pretty decent, despite his 2* skill moves, he's really hard to take the ball from with his 99 strength and 95 ball control (with chemstyle). His shooting is next to none, get the ball on his left foot and fire away from anywhere near the box and you will score. He's a beast in the air and can take shots from range as well.
I don't find his lack of pace very disturbing as my playstyle don't need a CF with pace but for others it might be a dealbreaker.
First touch
Finishing
Long shots
Strength +++++
Defense (obviosuly) although he's really strong in the air in both boxes
Pace