MILAN, Italy: Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return has once again transformed AC Milan.
When Ibrahimović moved back to Milan at the start of 2020, he sparked a turnaround that saw the club finish second in his first full season and then end their 11-year wait for the league title the following year.
This time, his return from injury has led to Milan’s revival.
Ibrahimović made his first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Atalanta and at 41 years, 146 days he became the oldest Milan player in Serie A, beating the mark that Alessandro Costacurta had established at 41 years, 25 days.
“There’s great emotion. It’s been a year and a half that I haven’t managed to play soccer as I wanted to, that I wasn’t well and I couldn’t do what I loved,” Ibrahimović said to Italian broadcaster Sport Mediaset. “Before I suffered a lot … because of my physical condition. Now it’s really good to be back on the field.”
The victory was Milan’s fourth straight in all competitions and lifted the team into second place alongside Inter Milan.
That run started with a win over Torino on Feb. 10, ending a streak of seven matches without a victory. Ibrahimović’s first match back in the squad, following knee surgery in May, was that game against Torino, though he didn’t play.
“From the moment I came back into the squad I was sure I could still make a difference and could transmit my certainty and my confidence to the others,” Ibrahimović said. “It wasn’t a happy period when I came back in, but in the last three or four matches we have been playing very well … but we mustn’t let up, because just one defeat is enough to call everything into question again.”
Milan visit Fiorentina on Saturday looking to continue their push for the top four in Serie A in a tight battle for the qualifying positions for next season’s Champions League. The team visit Tottenham in the round of 16 of this season’s competition on Wednesday, protecting a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg.
A Champions League winner’s medal is one of the few missing items from Ibrahimović’s longlist of honors. The Swedish forward has been left off Milan’s list for the competition this year but could yet have several more chances to win the title.
“If I feel like I feel today, I can continue to play for a few more years still, not just next year,” Ibrahimović said. “The truth is that up until three weeks ago, the feelings weren’t positive. Then something happened and I’ve done more in three weeks than in the past eight months.”
Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return lifts AC Milan yet again
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Zlatan Ibrahimović’s return lifts AC Milan yet again
- Ibrahimović made his first appearance of the season in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Atalanta and at 41 years, 146 days
- He became the oldest Milan player in Serie A, beating the mark that Alessandro Costacurta had established at 41 years, 25 days
Pesky Aston Villa vie to continue ascent vs. Arsenal
- Gunners boss Mikel Arteta faces a group that has posed problems the past two seasons
- “I don’t know,” Arteta said, when asked if he thought the fixture meant a bit more to Emery
LONDON: Premier League leaders Arsenal will face yet another potential statement match when they visit a third-place Aston Villa side led by former Gunners manager Unai Emery in Saturday’s early kickoff.
With the exception of Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Brentford, Arsenal’s recent schedule has been a gauntlet of glamorous opponents.
On Sunday, they earned a 1-1 draw across town at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Before that, it was a 3-1 home win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League first phase. And before that, a convincing home derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
But in Emery’s Villa side, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta faces a group that has posed problems the past two seasons, taking seven points from their four league meetings. And in his Spanish managerial compatriot, he may face a foe who still carries extra motivation in this fixture since his own run in charge of Arsenal (10-1-3, 33 points) ended unceremoniously in 2019.
“I don’t know,” Arteta said, when asked if he thought the fixture meant a bit more to Emery. “I think when you look at Unai, his career, his motivation level, everywhere he’s had an impact, it’s all been remarkable. So I don’t know, that’s a question for him. But in my opinion, he never needs anything extra. I think he’s good enough in himself.”
Arteta has his own concerns amid a relentless campaign that, despite an 18-match unbeaten run, has not come without issues, particularly in the injury department. But that landscape is improving, with Martin Odegaard returning midweek from an extended absence and regulars Declan Rice, William Saliba and Leandro Trossard all questionable for Saturday.
Villa (8-3-3, 27 points) have overcome an uninspiring start to climb their way up the table after a string of four consecutive league wins and six in all competitions.
Donyell Malen has emerged as a legitimate threat off the bench in the role vacated by Jhon Duran, leading Villa with four league goals despite only four starts. Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins have also scored three league goals each.
But Emery’s group have been consistent more than overwhelming, with their last three wins over Leeds, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton coming by a single goal. Their overall plus-6 goal differential is less than that of fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Crystal Palace.
“This is the Premier League, the most difficult. And it was so, so difficult to beat Brighton, it was so difficult to beat Wolverhampton,” Emery said Friday. “I can remind it for us and for you, and I was not feeling favorite against Wolverhampton, and I told you it, and tomorrow, I am not feeling favorite, but as well, I know we can win.”
