France vs Serbia. International Match.
Nouveau Stade Bordeaux.
Monday 7 September 2015 22:51, UK
Olivier Giroud had an evening to forget as he failed to impress as a starter during France's 2-1 friendly win over Serbia in Bordeaux on Monday night.
The Arsenal striker was picked in attack ahead of Karim Benzema and Manchester United's new signing Anthony Martial, but he was replaced just after the hour having missed several good chances.
Martial made little impact as a late substitute, and it was left to Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi to give Les Bleus a second friendly win in four days with a first-half double.
One Premier League striker did get on the scoresheet, but Newcastle's Aleksandar Mitrovic knew little about a Serbia reply which went in off his thigh.
Giroud's performance is likely to come under scrutiny given unconfirmed reports on social media that he was jeered by some in the Matmut Atlantique crowd even before his second-half substitution.
The 28-year-old has scored just once this season, and some Arsenal supporters questioned Arsene Wenger's failure to buy a supplementary striker ahead of last week's transfer deadline.
Antoine Griezmann's touch presented Giroud with a great chance to add to his haul, but he missed the far post from the corner of the six-yard box and saw Predrag Rajkovic keep out another close-range effort.
Matuidi scored either side of those misses, the first a downward header and the second a long-range volley after a half-cleared corner.
Lazar Markovic's hooked volley then cannoned off Mitrovic to wrong-foot Hugo Lloris (45), and Giroud was off target again before making way for Benzema.
The game petered out as the second half wore on and there was little opportunity for Martial - introduced 14 minutes from time - to give United supporters a taste of things to come ahead of his expected Premier League debut against Liverpool.
