Milan extended their unbeaten run earlier this afternoon as they beat Udinese by two goals to one, taking the tally up to 24 games. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the big hero with a goal and an assist, proving just how important he is for the team, bagging his seventh league goal of the season.
The Rossoneri perhaps didn’t have the best of games, with just four shots on target, but they did deserve the win all things considered. Franck Kessie opened the scoring after just 18 minutes with a thunderbolt of a strike, after Ibrahimovic brought it down on his chest and set up a Nocerino-esque goal.
At the break, therefore, things were looking good for Stefano Pioli’s side. Just two minutes into the second half, though, referee Marco Di Bello pointed to the spot after Alessio Romagnoli came in late in a challenge. He touched the ball, you could argue, but also took a slice of the player.
Rodrigo De Paul made no mistakes from the spot with a powerful effort, leaving Gigio Donnarumma with no chance although he went the right way. Fortunately, Ibrahimovic rescued Milan with just seven minutes to go, pouncing on a subpar clearance with a fantastic bicycle kick effort. Down below are three things we learned.
1. Milan are struggling with their counter-attacks
The Rossoneri has several chances to break on the counter but seemed to lack that extra bit of energy required to catch the opponents off guard. Furthermore, the wrong decision was often made and itäs something that the players will have to work, as it was a problem against Roma as well.
In the second half, though, it’s hard to blame Pioli’s men as Udinese decided to defend with eleven players behind the ball after the equaliser. Only one chance was needed for Ibrahimovic, of course, to settle the encounter and cement his spot at the top of the top goalscorers list.
2. Pioli made the right substitutions
As mentioned, the attack wasn’t great for most of the game, perhaps mainly because the attacking trio wasn’t at its best. Alexis Saelemaekers, Hakan Calhanoglu and Rafael Leao all worked hard and wanted a lot, but failed to turn their determination into something concrete.
Once Pioli brought on Brahim Diaz and Ante Rebic, things changed for the better and the latter was behind Ibrahimovic’s decisive goal. Returning from injury, he got an ‘assist’ as he played the cross that the defence couldn’t clear properly. The Spaniard, meanwhile, impressed once again with his technique.
3. Ibrahimovic comes up big once again
The 39-year-old delivered again, determined to bounce back from the penalty miss against Sparta Praha mid-week. As usual, he was heavily involved in Milan’s attack and did really well to assist Kessie for the first goal. His own goal doesn’t need much commentary, other than it’s extraordinary at his age.
He now has seven league goals and is leading the Capocannonieri race, ahead of Andrea Belotti with six goals. Considering that Ibrahimovic has played just four games, it’s even more impressive and at this rate, he will easily get 20+ goals for the Rossoneri in the league.
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