Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Sunday described his 150th Serie A goal from a free-kick as an “old age” shot as AC Milan beat Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma 2-1 to remain second on goal-difference in the table behind SSC Napoli.
The Sweden striker, who turned 40 earlier this month, also thought he had scored his 400th goal in domestic leagues in the second half, but was denied a second of the encounter when the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that he was offside.
Stefano Pioli’s side finished the game down a man after leftback Theo Hernandez was shown a red card for a shoulder challenge.
Photo: AFP
“Every now and then, I pull a surprise. You must always give it a go, as failure is part of success, so you keep trying,” Ibrahimovic told DAZN about his free-kick clocked at 101kph. “It usually goes quicker. At least 200kph. I think I must be slowing my shot in old age.”
Milan were under pressure after Napoli had opened up a three-point gap at the top of the table after claiming the spoils in a 1-0 derby victory over US Salernitana 1919.
At the Stadio Olimpico, Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. He drove home a low free-kick after Rick Karsdorp’s foul on Rafael Leao.
Ibrahimovic believed he had claimed a second, and a fourth for the campaign, after 50 minutes, but VAR adjudged him to be offside.
Milan eventually claimed a second when Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie converted from the penalty spot just before the hour mark.
The 18-time Italian champions’ hopes of claiming the three points appeared to be dealt a blow with 25 minutes to play when France defender Hernandez was shown a red card for a second bookable offense.
They were then given a scare late on as Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo had an 81st-minute header blocked on the line, before their former midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy claimed a stoppage-time consolation.
Earlier, Poland midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored as league leaders Napoli overcame lowly Salernitana.
Zielinski claimed his second goal of the season with half an hour left at the Stadio Arechi as both sides finished with 10 men.
Napoli were without in-form Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen due to injury, with captain Lorenzo Insigne on the bench.
They failed to create a clear first-half chance.
“Insigne has muscular fatigue, he was at risk of getting hurt,” Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said.
“I decided to keep him out, avoiding any risk,” Spalletti added before Thursday’s UEFA Europa League trip to Legia Warsaw.
Elsewhere, Joaquin Correa’s slick second-half brace earned Inter a 2-0 win over Udinese to consolidate the defending champions’ hold on third place.
The Argentina international joined Inter on loan from SS Lazio in August and made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut against Hellas Verona.
He repeated the feat, after missing three games this season through injury, against Udinese, who reached halftime having survived a seven-shot onslaught from Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, and a goalmouth scramble.
Correa finally got the breakthrough goal on the hour, running through after Ivan Perisic’s dummy to sidestep Udinese centerback Bram Nuytinck and shoot inside the near post.
Correa doubled up in the 68th minute, blasting the ball into the roof of the net.
Inter held on, but only after their goalkeeper and captain Samir Handanovic tipped a shot from Gerard Deulofeu over the bar, with the Spanish forward then having a goal disallowed for offside eight minutes from time.
Dusan Vlahovic scored a hat-trick to take his goal tally for the season to 10 in 12 games as ACF Fiorentina beat Spezia 3-0, Empoli won 2-1 at US Sassuolo, while Genoa and Venezia shared the points after a goalless draw.
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