Giroud dreaming of Champions League

Olivier Giroud is targeting Champions League football after playing a starring role in Montpellier’s 4-0 rout of Lorient on Saturday.

The French forward scored one goal and created three others as the Ligue 1 leaders extended their advantage at the top of the table to five points.

Giroud was satisfied by his side’s display and is now hoping that Montpellier can maintain their impressive form for the rest of the season.

“Lorient caused us problems between the lines in the first half,” Giroud told the official Ligue 1 website.

“We were lucky to get the lead, but we rectified things in the second half, when we took our chances and played better.”

“It is a great evening for us. Even though we did not deliver a complete performance, we managed to score four goals.”

“Lots of things are going for us just now. We will try to keep this little run going. I continue to believe that we can compete for a place in Europe.”

Montpellier boss Rene Girard echoed Giroud’s statements, underlining the impressive way in which his players coped with the pressure of going into the game occupying first place in the standings.

“We did the job well,” said the coach. “The first half pleased me less than the second. We gave the ball away a lot and tired ourselves out a bit. We fixed that at half-time.”

“At the moment, things are going well for us. We are playing great football and it’s great to watch. I am very happy.”

“We are making progress in every area – in terms of points, in terms of our football. I was waiting to see how we would get on in this game, because we have a new status and I didn’t know how we would cope.”

“I am quite surprised by my team, by the football we are playing, but also by the players’ mentality. It is really super.”

Montpellier currently sit on the top of the table, five points ahead of second-placed Lille, and six in front of Paris Saint-Germain, who face Auxerre on Sunday.