AC Milan 3-3 AS Roma: 5 Talking Points as Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabs historic brace | Serie A 2020-21
AC Milan's winning run came to an end against AS Roma as both sides played out a topsy-turvy, thrilling 3-3 draw at the San Siro. The result left the Giallorossi in 9th place on the Serie A table, while the Rossoneri still remain on top of the Italian top-flight.
The game was barely two minutes old when AC Milan took the lead, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic stretching out his right foot to poke the ball home after a peach of a chipped through ball from Rafael Leao on the left wing.
AS Roma responded soon after, with Edin Dzeko heading home a wicked in-swinging corner from Lorenzo Pellegrini in the 14th minute. Both sides continued to look threatening from set-pieces, but went into the break on level terms.
In a repeat of the first half, Milan took the lead two minutes after the restart, as Leao got the better of Karsdorp down Milan's left wing and cut the ball back for Alexis Saelemaekers to make it 2-1 with a well-timed finish. Roma's response took longer, but it came in fortuitous fashion as Pedro was awarded a debatable penalty after going down under pressure from Ismael Bennacer in the box.
Jordan Veretout stepped up, and confidently slammed the ball home to level the scoreline yet again. A few minutes later, Piero Giacomelli awarded another soft penalty to AC Milan, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic converting with aplomb to make it 3-2.
The Swede turned villain late on, as his miscue from a corner fell to Marash Kumbulla, who made it 3-3 in the 84th minute. Alessio Romagnoli had a late chance to win the game for Milan, but glanced his header wide from an injury-time corner.
Here are the five major talking points from an entertaining encounter at the San Siro:
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an ageless wonder
Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned 39 years old at the start of this month, but the Swedish legend continues to defy expectations. He began the game in storming fashion, making a supremely intelligent run behind Roma's backline and stretching out a his leg to guide the ball beyond Mirante.
Ibra's opener was the fastest of the 57 he's scored for AC Milan in Serie A, and also drew him level with the number of goals he scored for Inter Milan. His second goal brought him into the top 10 of all-time goalscorers, and the scary thing is that he doesn't look like he's about to stop anytime soon.
Just the way he was able to press and run the channels against Roma's back four was enough to silence his doubters, but Ibrahimovic capped it off with goals as well. He may have been at fault for Roma's third goal, but even at 39, the game was all about Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
#4 Roma boss Paulo Fonseca gets tactics right, personnel wrong
In what has become di rigueur for Giallorossi fans, Paulo Fonseca's 3-4-2-1 formation caused plenty of problems for the opponents, but failed at important moments.
In a system which is heavily dependent on the fullbacks being able to attack and defend in equal measure, Fonseca started with Rick Karsdorp and Leonardo Spinazzola in the wingback positions. The pair struggled quite a bit, with Roma looking much better once Bruno Peres came on in the second half.
Roma were perhaps fortunate to come away with a point, but the fight shown to come back from a goal down three times in the game is something Fonseca can work with for the future.