Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice in the first half to help AC Milan climb up to the fifth spot in the Serie A standings with a 2-1 win over 10-man Sassuolo on Tuesday. This was the ninth successive league game that Milan have scored at least two goals, the first time they have managed since 1999.
Ibrahimovic gave Milan the lead in the 19th minute with a diving header thanks to a sublime cross from Hakan Calhanoglu.
However, that was negated in the 42nd minute when Calhanoglu was adjudged to have handled the ball and Franseca Caputo converted the resulting spot-kick to bring back Sassuolo on level terms.
Calhanoglu was responsible for the third and final goal of the night as well. He teed up Ibrahimovic in the stoppage time of the first half with the 38-year-old forward latching onto a through ball to send the ball past Andrea Consigli and restore Milan’s one-goal cushion.
Meanwhile, Atlanta, whom Milan face next, beat Bologna 1-0 to regain the second spot in the standings. Luis Muriel to score the only goal of the contest after the hour-mark with Atlanta continuing their unbeaten run to 15 matches now.
They are just six points behind leaders and holders Juventus and three points ahead of third-placed Inter Milan.
During the match, Atlanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini was consigned to the stands following a heated spat with his Bologna counterpart Sinisa Mihajlovic who was shown the yellow card before the half-time.
“I didn’t deserve to be expelled,” Gasperini was quoted as saying by AFP. “But let’s talk about the match. We’re looking for consistency on the pitch, then we’ll have 12 days later to choose what kind of work to do to prepare for the Champions League.”
