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
Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title
- Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup title on Saturday, playing a leading role in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Florida.
Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami took the lead after an early Edier Ocampo own goal but were left reeling by Ali Ahmed’s second half-equalizer for Vancouver.
But Messi then laid on an assist for Argentina international team-mate Rodrigo De Paul to put Miami 2-1 up before supplying the pass for Tadeo Allende’s injury time goal that sealed victory.
Miami’s first Major League Soccer crown provided glittering vindication for co-owner David Beckham, the former England and Manchester United star who had long dreamed of bringing success to Miami.
“There was a lot of sleepless nights, but I always believed,” Beckham said afterwards. “I always believed in bringing the team here, and when I found the right partners I knew anything was possible.
“We always promised our fans that we would bring success, and bring the best players, and today we’ve achieved that.”
Vancouver — spearheaded by German legend Thomas Mueller — had looked the likelier victor after recovering from Ocampo’s eighth minute own goal to level through Ali Ahmed in the 60th minute.
The Whitecaps almost took the lead moments after the equalizer, with Emmanuel Sabbi’s shot crashing off both posts in the 62nd minute as Miami escaped.
But with the Whitecaps in complete control, the Canadians were stunned when Miami regained the lead after a blunder by midfielder Andres Cubas.
Cubas took too long in possession and was robbed by Messi, who skipped clear before releasing De Paul to provide the clinical finish.
Vancouver never recovered from that hammer blow and Miami started the party in injury time when Messi played in Allende for the third to make it 3-1.
The win marks the crowning achievement of Inter Miami since the club — which entered the league as an expansion club in 2020 — successfully lured Messi to Miami in 2023.
Saturday’s victory also marked the end of an era for two key figures in Miami’s rise to the top of Major League Soccer, with former Spanish internationals Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets heading into retirement.
