Ibrahimovic Inspires Milan To 2-1 Victory At Roma
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 150th Serie A goal as AC Milan inflicted Jose Mourinho’s first home defeat, after a 2-1 victory against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Mourinho’s Roma started with Tammy Abraham in attack, while Milan had Ibrahimovic up front, supported by Rafael Leao and Alexis Saelemaekers on the flanks.
The game began at a high tempo but neither side could find the target with their efforts until Ibrahimovic struck a powerful free-kick in the 26th minute into the bottom corner, beating goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
Leao and Ibrahimovic had goals ruled out for offside either side of the break after both forwards finished exquisitely, but the Rossoneri doubled its lead when Ibanez collided with Ibrahimovic in the box following a quick Milan counter-attack.
Roma protested the decision and referee Fabio Maresca had a second look on the pitchside Video Assistant Referee (VAR) monitor but stood by his original call and Frank Kessie converted the spot kick from 12 yards.
Milan were reduced to 10 men for the final 25 minutes of the game after left back Theo Hernandez was shown a second yellow card for taking down Lorenzo Pellegrini on the edge of the box.
Roma struggled to make their numerical advantage count until late on when El Shaarawy smashed the ball into the net in stoppage time for a consolation goal.
The victory leaves Milan second, level on 31 points with leaders Napoli, who they trail on goal difference, and 12 points ahead of fourth-placed Roma. Inter Milan are third on 24 point.
Mourinho appeared furious at the end of a frantic match as his run of 43 unbeaten home Serie A games came to an end. That streak included two title-winning seasons at Inter Milan between 2008 and 2010 and his spell at Roma, who he joined in the close season and who had not lost at home since March.
“Congratulations to Milan. I do not want to say anything else because otherwise I will not be on the bench on Sunday,” Mourinho, who was unhappy with the officials, said after the match.
“The lack of respect for our fans angers me a bit.”
Serie A results
Inter 2-0 Udinese
Genoa 0-0 Venezia
Sassuolo 1-2 Empoli
Fiorentina 3-0 Spezia
Salernitana 0-1 Napoli
Roma 1-2 AC Milan
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/Serie A.
