Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan became the oldest goal scorer in Serie A history, but that feat was insufficient to stop them from losing 3-1 to Udinese on Saturday, limiting their chances of finishing in the top four.
Milan squandered the opportunity to go up to second and instead stayed in fourth place with 48 points, one point ahead of AS Roma in fifth, who will play Lazio on Sunday.
“It was a negative performance. When the team plays like this, neither aggressive, nor intense, nor precise or focused, it means the coach has worked badly in preparing the match. We were too far below our capabilities this evening,” Milan manager Stefano Pioli told Sky Sport Italia.
“Look, it’s clear we won’t retain the Scudetto, but we can win this mini-league of teams trying to qualify for the Champions League. We want and can do better this season,” he concluded.
After nine minutes, Ismael Bennacer’s weak pass was intercepted by Lazar Samardzic, who then charged into the box and found Roberto Pereyra, who grabbed the ball and slid it into the right corner.
When the hosts adopted an aggressive stance from the opening whistle and created multiple opportunities to double their lead, it took Milan 20 minutes to establish a foothold in the game.
But Milan struck next, albeit under mysterious circumstances.
Ibrahimovic, a Milan striker, initially missed a penalty following a handball late in the first half before it was retaken after play had already continued for a minute due to encroachment.
After the verdict, Udinese coach Andrea Sottil verbally abused the referee and was thus dismissed.
Ibrahimovic, who was making his start for the first time since January 2022, converted with four minutes left in the first half to make history by scoring to become the oldest player in Serie A history, at 41 years and 166 days, to score a league goal.
He outlasted Alessandro Costacurta’s previous record, which he set in 2007, by 141 days. In a loss to Udinese, Costacurta also scored Milan’s final goal from the penalty spot.
For Zlatan’s case, the joy of breaking an age-long record was short-lived because two minutes later, Beto scored from close range on an Isaac Success cross to give Udinese the lead once more.
In the 70th minute, Kingsley Ehizibue, who was unmarked, knocked in a pass from Destiny Udogie at the back post to give Udinese the victory.
Udinese’s chances of competing in Europe next season were maintained by the victory as they moved up to eighth place, seven points behind Atalanta in sixth, the final qualifying spot.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a Swedish professional football player who competes for both the Sweden national team and Serie A club AC Milan, was born on October 3, 1981.
With 34 titles in his career, he is one of the most decorated active footballers in the world and is considered as one of the best attackers of all time.
