Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned on the pitch as Milan convincingly defeated Atalanta Sunday. He replaced Olivier Giroud in the final 20 minutes, looking reasonably well for somebody who hadn’t starred in over nine months. He has become the oldest player to wear the Rossoneri colors in recent Serie A history, as he’s 41, plus 146 days, La Repubblica relays.
The Swedish star had only a pair of touches and sprints. However, he was instrumental in the game-sealing goal by Junior Messias. He opened up some room with a timely cut. He supplanted Divock Origi as the deputy striker right away. That won’t be the case in Champions League, though. He wasn’t inserted in the UEFA list because there weren’t certainties about when he would be fully healthy at the time.
Ibrahimovic was his usual flamboyant self in his post-game remarks (via SportMediaset).
“I missed the fans, who give me the strength to keep going, and the adrenaline. It’s tough to do it without their support. I hadn’t felt this good in a year and two months. I was able to do what I love, which is playing football. The surgery could have taken place before, but last year’s was our season. I wanted to help the team. I never suffered this much for a trophy. It was a particular campaign, and the pain wasn’t only physical due to the passing of Mino Raiola.”
“When I’m fit, I’m still the best. San Siro erupted when I entered the game. I’m available and want to compete for minutes with my teammates. I don’t want to be here for what I did in the past. I aim to play entire matches, not just five or ten minutes.”
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