Zlatan still a force at 40

Ibrahimovic continues to grow old gracefully as freekick strike boosts Milan title hopes

MILAN－Turning 40 hasn't stopped Zlatan Ibrahimovic from being Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The ageless Sweden great, whose 40th birthday was on Oct 3, scored one goal and also earned a penalty that led to AC Milan's second goal in a 2-1 win at Jose Mourinho's Roma in the Italian league on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic described his 150th Serie A goal from a freekick as an "old age" shot as Milan remains second on goal difference in the table behind Napoli.

The Sweden striker, who turned 40 earlier this month, also thought he had scored his 400th goal in domestic leagues but was denied a second of the game when VAR ruled him offside in the second half.

Stefano Pioli's Milan side finished the match a man down after leftback Theo Hernandez was shown a red card for a shoulder charge.

"Every now and then, I pull a surprise! You must always give it a go, as failure is part of success, so you keep trying," Ibrahimovic told DAZN about his freekick clocked at 101 km/h.

"It usually goes quicker! At least 200 kilometers per hour! I think I must be slowing my shot in old age."

Milan was under pressure after Napoli opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table by claiming the spoils in a 1-0 derby victory over Salernitana.

At Stadio Olimpico, Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark.

He drove home a low freekick after Rick Karsdorp's foul on Rafael Leao.

Ibrahimovic believed he had claimed a second, and a fourth for the campaign, but VAR adjudged him to be offside, after 50 minutes.

Milan eventually claimed a second as Cote d'Ivoire midfielder Franck Kessie converted from the penalty spot just before the hour mark.

The 18-time Italian champion's hopes of claiming the three points appeared to be dealt a blow with 25 minutes to play as France defender Hernandez was shown a red card for a second bookable offense.

It was then given a late scare as Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo had an 81st-minute header blocked on the line before former Milan man Stephan El Shaarawy claimed an injury-time consolation effort.

Earlier, Poland midfielder Piotr Zielinski scored as league leader Napoli overcame lowly Salernitana.

Zielinski claimed his second goal of the season with half an hour left at Stadio Arechi in Salerno as both sides finished with 10 men.

Napoli was without in-form Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen due to injury, with captain Lorenzo Insigne on the bench.

It failed to create a clear first-half chance.

"Insigne has muscular fatigue, he was at risk of getting hurt," Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said.

"I decided to keep him out, avoiding any risk," Spalletti added ahead of Thursday's Europa League trip to Legia Warsaw.

Earlier, Joaquin Correa's slick second-half double earned Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Udinese to consolidate the defending champion's hold on third place.

The Argentina international joined Inter on loan from Lazio in August and made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut against Verona.

He repeated the feat, after missing three games this season through injury, against Udinese, who reached the interval having survived a seven-shot onslaught from Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella, and a goalmouth scramble.

Correa finally got the breakthrough goal on the hour, running through after Ivan Perisic's dummy to sidestep Udinese center-back Bram Nuytinck and shoot inside the near post.

Correa doubled up on the 68th minute, blasting the ball into the roof of the net with Denzel Dumfries providing a neat assist from the right.

Inter held on but only after its goalkeeper and captain Samir Handanovic tipped a Gerard Deulofeu shot over the bar, with the Spanish forward then having a goal disallowed for offside eight minutes from time.

Udinese extended its winless run to eight matches.

Agencies