Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores twice to help 10-man Milan beat Cagliari and go top of Serie A

AC Milan legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic marked his first league start in two months with two goals against Cagliari in a 2-0 away win on Monday to send the Rossoneri clear at the top of the table. The Swedish forward picked up a thigh injury in Milan's victory against Napoli on November 22 and it kept him out of action until last weekend when he returned as a substitute against Torino. However, the 39-year-old was fit enough to start in Sardinia and he wasted no time in getting back among the goals. 

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Cagliari vs AC Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic goals guide Rossoneri back to summit of Serie A

Milan headed into their Serie A clash without Rafael Leao, who was suspended, while Theo Hernandez and Hakan Calhanoglu were ruled out due to COVID-19. However, Stefano Pioli was glad to have legendary forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic back in his starting line-up for the game on Monday. Milan also started with Diogo Dalot and Jens Hauge, while Brahim Diaz was given the playmaker role. 

It took just seven minutes for the visitors to grab the lead as Zlatan, who was brought down in the Cagliari box, converted from the resulting spot-kick. Ironically, Ibra then got his second goal seven minutes after the break as he finished neatly from Davide Calabria’s cross-field ball. It was his 12th goal in the league this season, coming in just seven starts. 

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Ibrahimovic picked up a thigh muscle injury in the game against Napoli in November. Reports suggested that the big forward would return by mid-December but it was later revealed that he had a hemorrhagic suffusion in his soleus muscle, which ruled him out for the remainder of 2020. However, with Ibra now back and firing for Milan, he is likely to play a crucial role in ending the club's 10-year drought without a Scudetto. 

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The only downside to an otherwise comfortable win for Milan was the late dismissal of substitute Alexis Saelemaekers. The 21-year-old Belgian was sent off for after receiving two yellow cards that he picked up in quick succession. The win for Milan put them three points clear of Antonio Conte's Inter Milan, who beat defending champions Juventus 2-0 at the weekend. 

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Image Credits - AC Milan Twitter