Giroud treble inspires Arsenal

Olivier Giroud grabbed a superb hat-trick as Arsenal crushed Olympiakos Piraeus 3-0 to book their spot in the Champions League’s last 16 with a classy demolition job that ended the hopes of their Greek opponents yesterday.

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea earned some relief from their domestic woes, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Group G as debutants Gent became only the second Belgian side to advance to the knockout phase when they ended Zenit St Petersburg’s 100 per cent record in Group H with a dramatic 2-1 win.

Roma are also through for the first time since 2010/11 after a goalless draw against BATE Borisov – coupled with Bayer Lever-kusen’s failure to defeat Barcelona – secured second place in Group E.

With Arsenal needing an emphatic victory to make it out of Group F, France forward Giroud produced a high-calibre display of finishing to ensure the English club finished second, level on nine points with Olympiakos, but ahead by virtue of their better head-to-head record.

Giroud opened the scoring with a powerful header in the first half, doubled Arsenal’s advantage with a calm left-footed finish quickly after the restart and rounded off a superb individual display with a...