MARSEILLE:

Even though he is about to turn 39, promised "this is only the beginning" after striking in added time on Sunday to give Lille a 1-0 Ligue 1 win over visiting Monaco.

Giroud, the French national team's all-time leading scorer, was brought in by Lille in part to replace Jonathan David, who was making a scoring Serie A debut for Juventus on Sunday night.

"It was a challenge I thought I could take on," said Giroud. "I'm a man who likes a challenge.

"I'm enjoying myself, even if it's a little harder to recover with age."

Giroud had scored 11 minutes into his first outing for Lille as they drew 3-3 at Brest in the first round.

Sunday's was a far cagier match, before Giroud broke the dull deadlock in the 91st minute.

Receiving the ball with his back to goal, the centre forward

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