All of a sudden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the giant who recognises no symptom of age, has two more shots at lifting one of the European trophies that has stubbornly eluded him throughout a remarkable career.
Starting tonight, he can drag the Europa League closer to his orbit, as his AC Milan take on Manchester United for a place in the last eight.
Being Zlatan, he also believes that a Sweden with him back at centre-forward might go all the way at the summer’s European Championship.
Even by the soap-opera standards of Ibrahimovic's storied career, this has been a dramatic week. It saw the announcement that discreet talks with the manager of Sweden, Janne Andersson, over the past four months have led to agreement that the country's greatest-ever goalscorer would reverse his international retirement, more than five years after he closed his account with Sweden at 116 caps and 62 goals.
He will be 40 in October, but the stunning success of his return to elite club football, at Milan, made a compelling case for Andersson. Nobody in Italy’s top division is scoring goals at Ibrahimovic’s rate, his 14 so far this season coming at an average of one every 79 minutes.
The Sweden manager, who has been criticised by Ibrahimovic in the past, also praised the benefit of the superstar’s experience and confidence around the national squad, echoing what Milan coach Stefano Pioli has been saying about the brash, brilliant, and unabashedly boastful Ibrahimovic.
“God is back,” the player posted, as his selection for Andersson’s squad for next week’s internationals was made public, along with confirmation that, if fit, he will take part in the postponed Euro 2020 tournament.
The self-styled deity is back for Milan, too, from a thigh problem that has kept him out of action since the end of last month, just in time for another emotionally charged comeback. Milan this evening host United in the second leg of a knife-edge last-16 tie.
United are the club at which Ibrahimovic picked up the one European prize on his glittering resume, although the circumstances were such that it felt like a footnote. He had suffered a cruciate ligament injury before the 2016-2017 Europa League semi-finals, and missed the last quarter of that season.
____________________________________________________________________
United 1 Milan 1: player ratings from first leg
-
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: Dean Henderson - 5: Beat away several first-half Milan efforts, the best from Saelemaekers. Looked to be heading for another clean sheet, but poor for their goal and that’s what he’ll be remembered on this occasion. He’s done well overall since coming in for De Gea, but that was his first mistake. Getty -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6: Scarcely involved in the first half. Beaten by Krunic in another Milan attack which they couldn’t capitalise on. Reuters -
Eric Bailly - 6: Did OK. Defence dropped too deep for Milan’s goal – and paid for it. Getty -
Harry Maguire - 6: Missed sitter in first half when he shinned the ball onto the back post from a Telles’ cross from two yards out. Vocal in telling his teammates to stop giving the ball away but as he said after “I should have scored, but that’s why I’m a defender and not a forward.” AFP -
Alex Telles - 7: Understudy to Luke Shaw, but dependable and lively. Overhit a freekick, crossed to Maguire. Shifted to back three as United switched tactics in the heavy rain. Held firm under Milan pressure … until the late blow. AFP -
Scott McTominay - 6: Switched play and found Fernandes with one fine first-half pass but didn’t control game in first. Booked and then very fortunate to stay on the field for another foul on in last 10 minutes against an injury-hit Milan side. Getty -
Nemanja Matic - 6: Slow in possession in the first half. Blocked a shot from Dias and effective in tight areas, but United need far more tempo and intensity in the second leg. EPA -
Daniel James - 6: Like his team, came alive at the start of the second half. Couldn’t get his feet ready to put the ball into an open goal from a Greenwood cross on the fast, wet surface. Should have done better with that one. AFP -
Bruno Fernandes - 7: Struggled to find space between Milan’s lines in the first half. Flicked a header towards Maguire from which the defender should have scored. Ball in behind the opposition defence which dropped in for Amad was moment of the match. Came off in last 20 minutes, thinking his work was done. If only. AP -
Anthony Martial - 5: No repeat of his best performance of the season in Sunday’s Manchester derby. Wonderful strike on eight minutes, but little else in the first half against a superior Milan. Needs to be back on-form in the second leg. EPA -
Mason Greenwood - 5: Quiet first half. Moved to centre-forward after half time after Martial went off and was better for it as United improved. Clever cross for James but while service to him was poor, centre-forwards for Manchester United really need to be having shots on target in games at Old Trafford. Greenwood didn’t have one. AFP -
SUBS: Amad Diallo - (On for Martial 46') 7: Went right side of attack and scored in less than three minutes. Perfect run onto Fernandes' pass to make a back header over the goalkeeper and give United the lead. Incredible start and taken with such confidence for his first ever United goal. AFP -
Brandon Williams - (On for Wan-Bissaka 74') 5: Made an impact in Europa League last season, but now more peripheral. AFP -
Fred - (On for Fernandes 73') 5: Brought on as United went defensive to try and keep out Milan. Getty -
Luke Shaw - (On for James 74') 5: Man of the moment came on as a central defender, then shifted left as United changed tactics to try and hold onto the lead. It didn’t work. Reuters -
AC MILAN RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6: Called into action early on when he tipped Anthony Martial’s ambitious effort over the bar. Later palmed away a low James cross with an out-stretched arm, although the offside flag went up anyway, but was beaten all end’s up by Diallo’s fabulous header. Reuters -
Davide Calabria - 7: A lung-busting evening’s work from the Italy international who surged forward at every opportunity as Milan looked to take the game to the home side. He showed he had the legs at the other end too when he charged after the rapid James to rescue what looked like a dangerous situation. Reuters -
Simon Kjaer - 7: The experienced Dane often proved too strong for Martial and he easily shrugged the Frenchman off the ball as he looked to dart in behind. He couldn’t stop the excellent run of Diallo to finally break the deadlock, but he headed in a dramatic leveller in stoppage time. EPA -
Fikayo Tomori - 7: On-loan Chelsea defender Tomori caught the eye with a fine display for the Blues at Ajax early last season and was largely untroubled in this contest. He was caught out by Diallo’s perfectly-timed run, but he stopped Greenwood in his tracks with one excellent last-ditch tackle. EPA -
Diogo Dalot - 7: Started against his parent club in an intriguing addition to an already fascinating encounter and produced a couple of dangerous crosses from the left, including a fizzed effort that was blocked by McTominay. Getty -
Soualiho Meite - 6: Another Milan loan signing, was steady first-half but struggled to contain the impressive Fernandes after the break as United started to enjoy more success in spells. Reuters -
Franck Kessie - 8: A rock in the middle of the park. Was at the heart of Milan’s best attacking play and rifled a spectacular effort beyond the leap of Henderson and into the corner, only for VAR to chalk off the goal again, this time for handball. Looked very harsh. Reuters -
Alexis Saelemaekers - 8: A tenacious performance in midfield. Picked up a slightly harsh booking inside just 16 minutes when Telles took a tumble. Moments earlier, he almost found Tomori who couldn’t quite connect with the Belgian’s searching ball across goal. Asked questions of the United defence throughout. AFP -
Brahim Diaz - 7: A lively start from the ex-Manchester City man who is proving to be another crafty loan signing. He unpicked United’s defence when he cleverly slipped in Calabria, but the defender couldn't get a shot away. Withdrawn for the final 20 minutes after a quieter second half. Reuters -
Rade Krunic - 7: Put himself in all the right areas but his finishing was wasteful. Saw a first-half effort deflect into the thankful arms of Henderson when he probably should have hit it first time; and his reaction suggested he knew it too. Blazed a decent chance over after the restart before impressively getting a yard on Wan-Bissaka, only to power his header wide. AP -
Rafael Leao - 6: Issued the hosts an early warning when he raced onto Calabria’s punt over the top before smashing past Henderson, but United were bailed out by the offside flag. He let the hosts off the hook again late on with a complete air shot when he went for the glory finish. AFP -
SUBS: Sandro Tonali (On for Diaz 69') 6: Exciting 20-year-old prospect didn’t manage to make much of an impact, although he did manage to wind up Shaw when he hit the deck a little theatrically. Reuters -
Samu Castillejo - (On for Saelemaekers 69') 5: Didn't see much of the ball and made little impact. Getty -
Pierre Kalulu - (On for Calabria 74' 6: An energetic cameo from the young defender. Getty
____________________________________________________________________
It had, in any case, been regarded as his swansong to elite football, a brief, late-career sampling of the Premier League. Ibrahimovic did play again for United after recovering from surgery, but only sporadically, hampered by further injuries. He left in March 2018 for Los Angeles, and the MLS, aged 36.
Little did anybody suspect the move was not a signpost towards easing up, of a man gently setting out the retirement furniture. After two years at LA Galaxy, he returned to a Milan in crisis.
It had been almost a decade since he had won Serie A with them, part of his astonishing sequence of domestic titles, when he finished top of every different league he played in for 12 of 13 consecutive seasons, starting with Ajax in 2004, passing through Juventus and Inter Milan, then a year with Barcelona in Spain, onto Milan and four seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
United, the next stop, would not deliver a Premier League title, but they did at least bring him back a parcel containing that Europa League gold medal while he was recuperating.
It still irked him that he had never been on site to lift a European trophy, not least because Inter won the Champions League the season after he left for Barcelona and then Barca, where he was influential but not always happy, won it the season after he departed Catalonia.
'Ibra' has a great deal invested in this evening's joust for a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, with Milan and United tied at 1-1 and entitled to believe whoever wins will be the competition's favourites.
“Zlatan has been out of action for a while but I’ve called him up for the game because I think he’s ready,” said Pioli. “His coming back is important for us, although obviously he might not have 90 minutes in his legs.”
Pioli had anticipated that Ibrahimovic would be drawn to playing in a last major tournament with Sweden this summer, and that Andersson could hardly ignore the transformative impact Ibrahimovic has had at Milan.
The club were in the bottom half of Serie A when he returned to Italy 14 months ago; a year on, they were top. “He has improved the team in terms of personality,” said Pioli, “and on the field he remains a great champion.”
