AC Milan suffered its seventh league defeat of the season on Saturday evening. On a visit to Udinese, the team of coach Stefano Pioli lost 3-1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who made his comeback in the base at Milan after fourteen months, managed to score the equalizer just before halftime. At 41 years and 166 days, he became the oldest goalscorer ever in Serie A. The Milanese remain in fourth place due to the defeat.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his comeback in the starting line-up at AC Milan after fourteen months. The Swedish superstar struggled with a lingering knee injury for a long time, from which he has now recovered. Ibrahimovic also wore the club’s captain’s armband for the first time. This also makes him the oldest captain of Milan ever. Against Udinese, the Swede was served from the flanks by Rafael Leão and Brahim Díaz. Olivier Giroud (suspended) Junior Messias (injured) and Theo Hernández (sick) were missing.
Zlatan misses, but gets ????????????????????! ??
After running in too early, the penalty can be taken again and Ibrahimovic eagerly uses that ??#ZiggoSport #SerieA #UdineseMilan pic.twitter.com/6EhaMFLI5e— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 18, 2023
Milan already faced a deficit after eight minutes when visiting Udinese. Roberto Pereyra didn’t even hit the ball full, but signed for the 1-0. The duel really came to a head just before half-time. Referee Daniele Doveri awarded the visitors a penalty kick after the intervention of the VAR after Jaka Bijol had the ball hit against his arm by Rafael Leão. Ibrahimovic got behind the ball, but had to watch Marco Silvestri make the save.
A few minutes later, the striker was given a second chance, as Beto came in too early with the penalty kick. This time it was a hit for Ibrahimovic, who shot the ball hard through the middle against the ropes. With his goal, he became the oldest goalscorer ever in Serie A at 41 years and 166 days. The old record was held by Milan legend Alessandro Costacurta since 2007 at 41 years and 25 days.
Milan had to chase after the break, because deep in stoppage time of the first company, Udinese took the lead again. Isaac Success crossed, after which Beto was able to shoot in from close range to make it 2-1. Milan went on the hunt for the equalizer again in the second half, but Kingsley Ehizibue closed the game twenty minutes before the end. The former player of PEC Zwolle worked in at the far post: 3-1. Marvin Zeegelaar came on as a substitute at Udinese just before the end of regular playing time.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naples | 26 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 68 |
| 2 | Internazionale | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 50 |
| 3 | Lazio | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 49 |
| 4 | AC Milan | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 48 |
| 5 | AS Roma | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 47 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 27 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 45 |
| 7 | Juventus | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 38 |
| 8 | Udinese | 27 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 38 |
| 9 | Torino | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 37 |
| 10 | bologna | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 37 |
| 11 | Sassuolo | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 36 |
| 12 | Florence | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 34 |
| 13 | Monza | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | -5 | 34 |
| 14 | Empoli | 27 | 6 | 10 | 11 | -12 | 28 |
| 15 | Lecce | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | -7 | 27 |
| 16 | Salernitana | 27 | 6 | 9 | 12 | -16 | 27 |
| 17 | Spezia | 27 | 5 | 9 | 13 | -20 | 24 |
| 18 | Hellas Verona | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -17 | 19 |
| 19 | Cremonese | 27 | 1 | 10 | 16 | -27 | 13 |
| 20 | Sampdoria | 26 | 2 | 6 | 18 | -30 | 12 |