AC Milan tasted a dramatic defeat after Zlatan Ibrahimovic got sent off as their Derby rivals, Inter Milan defeated them for 2-1 at San Siro. After the successful encounter, Inter now progresses to the semi-final of Copa Italia.
When one says the word Derby, this is what it means- A classic rivalry with a lot of fights and a dramatic end to the game. The spotlight of the day was the feud between the ex-teammates, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku. Both of them completely lost their heads and we were this close to seeing a physical brawl.
Zlatan gave AC Milan the lead just before half-time along with starting the fight with Lukaku. With 30 minutes remaining, the 39-year-old saw a red card which Inter fully utilized. Lukaku scored from the spot to give his team the equalizer and Christian Eriksen guaranteed the win with his free-kick in the 7th minute of the 10 minutes added time.
ZLATAN’S RED COST AC MILAN THE GAME:
The game was vividly dominated by Inter as they earned the dramatic win. The tension between Zlatan and Lukaku would startle anyone from believing that they once used to be teammates.
Zlatan shared the same side of the pitch with Lukaku when the pair used to play for Manchester United. However, time changes, and 2 years later, they still share the pitch, only that they belong to different Milan clubs.
Ibrahimovic taunted Lukaku at half-time with laughs and insults. An unending indirect dialogue filled with dominating knocks was happening between the two. Lukaku wasn’t backing down and the duo went head-to-head, literally, and exchanged filthy insults among themselves.
His Inter teammates were holding him back as Zlatan stood where he stood. Both the players were booked for the wild display. But Zlatan couldn’t keep his temper down, as his tackle on Aleksandar Kolarov in the second half gave him his second yellow and Milan was down to 10-men.
Zlatan’s influence on this team has been immense and we can see that from their performance this season. With a player like him being sent-off, it affected the players’ performances. Milan conceded a penalty with 20 minutes left to play and Lukaku took out his anger on the ball as he struck the ball with power.
Inter were now dominating the game completely and it was just a matter of time the 2nd goal came. And in the added time, Christian Eriksen made sure that his free-kick went into the net.
LUKAKU’S COMMENT ON ZLATAN AT MANCHESTER UNITED:
Feuds are a part of the game. When on the pitch, one only thinks about getting his team to victory. And for that, whatever means used are fair, except physical fights that might injure others and end their careers.
Lukaku and Zlatan were great together at United. The former even praised the Swedish International on how he used to help him improve. The Belgian saw him as his mentor and appreciated for instilling competitiveness in him.
“I remember one training session – because we were both strikers, we were never on the same team – there was a 50/50 challenge. He went full-on against me!
That is when I knew this guy wants to compete and this guy wants to fight for his spot. That is why he changed me. It was an eye-opener. The guy had to fight to be in the position he is in.
So, I learned just to focus, work hard and enjoy it as well. Because he is a guy who you can have a lot of fun with as well and having his personality in the dressing room was good.”
Romelu Lukaku on Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan is one of the best strikers in the world and Lukaku is one in the process of making the standards. Both of them will be crucial for their respective teams in the remainder of the season.
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