Lazio set new club record of 10 successive Serie A victories as howler from Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina gifts them 1-0 win
Saturday 11 January 2020 20:28, UK
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on his first start since returning to AC Milan as his side earned a 2-0 win at Cagliari on Saturday to end a three-match winless run in Serie A.
The Swede, who joined the Serie A club for a second time on a free transfer in December, swept in a finish on the 64th minute after Rafael Leao's deflected strike broke the deadlock early in the second half.
Ibrahimovic, who made his second debut for the club off the bench during Monday's 0-0 draw with Sampdoria, has now scored a top-flight senior goal in four different decades.
The result elevates Milan to eighth place on 25 points, ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures, after a run of three games without victory in which they failed to score a single goal.
Cagliari have now suffered four consecutive league defeats, but remain in sixth place with 29 points.
"It's important for a striker to score; sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't," Ibrahimovic told Sky in Italy.
"I feel good, I got a few things wrong at the start of the game, but I need a few matches to get into top form.
"The coach thinks about my age, but it's not a problem, my mind is still sharp and the body must follow."
Milan coach Stefano Pioli selected Ibrahimovic alongside Leao in attack as he switched to a 4-4-2 formation, and the 38-year-old came close in the first half when his header was tipped onto the foot of the post by Cagliari goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
The visitors broke through within a minute of the restart when Leao latched onto a long Samu Castillejo pass and saw his low effort loop over Olsen and into the net after taking a big deflection.
Ibrahimovic topped off an impressive performance with a goal midway through the second half when he directed a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner from 12 yards out.
The Swede thought he had a second in the closing stages when he headed home a cross, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Meanwhile, Lazio set a new club record of 10 successive Serie A victories as a howler from Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina gifted them a 1-0 victory.
Lazio posed little threat in the second half and there appeared to be little danger when, with eight minutes remaining, a back pass was played to Ospina.
Ciro Immobile rushed in and as the Napoli goalkeeper tried to dribble around the Lazio forward, he slipped, allowing Immobile to take the ball and whip it into the back of the net from a tight angle.
In France, a fine finish from Moussa Dembl and a deflected effort from Maxwell Cornet helped Lyon beat Bordeaux 2-1. League leaders Paris Saint-Germain are at home to Monaco on Sunday.
