Giroud hat-trick maintains Milan's top-four push
Olivier Giroud's hat-trick helped Milan maintain its push for Champions League qualification as it cruised to a comfortable 5-1 victory over Serie A's bottom club Sampdoria.
Giroud netted a first-half double and added a third after the break at San Siro to keep the Rossoneri – who were licking their wounds after falling short to rivals Inter in the Champions League semi-finals – on track in their pursuit of a place in the top four.
Rafael Leao opened the scoring, though already-relegated Sampdoria restored parity through veteran forward Fabio Quagliarella.
But after Giroud's quickfire double, Brahim Diaz got in on the act before the France forward rounded off his hat-trick to cap an emphatic success.
Milan needed just nine minutes to carve open their visitors, with Leao latching onto Diaz's lob delivery outside the box before slotting a low finish past Nicola Ravaglia.
Sampdoria seized a shock equaliser against the run of play when Quagliarella drilled an Alessandro Zanoli cut-back beyond Mike Maignan.
Quagliarella has now netted in 18 different Serie A campaigns, making him just the fourth man to do so. The outright record is held by Francesco Totti, with 23.
However, parity was short-lived.
Giroud restored Milan's lead three minutes later when he nodded Diaz's cross in, before converting a penalty after Leao was felled by Koray Gunter.
Any comeback hopes Sampdoria may have harboured heading into the second half were extinguished in the 63rd minute, with Diaz tucking home from Sandro Tonali's square pass.
Giroud completed his hat-trick five minutes later, with the striker shrugging off Bram Nuytinck to smash home at close-range and seal the deal.
After exiting Europe in dour fashion to its biggest rival, Milan needed a response to keep their hopes of playing in UEFA's flagship club competition next season alive.
It did so in emphatic fashion, and while critics may deride Sampdoria as an easy test, Stefano Pioli's side regained some crucial flair and fluency in its game, having 19 shots and getting nine of them on target.
