Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return from injury for AC Milan’s Europa League last 16, second-leg clash against the Swede’s former club Manchester United in the San Siro, coach Stefano Pioli said yesterday.
Pioli said that forward Ibrahimovic and midfielder Ismael Bennacer are both fit to play a role today as Milan target the quarter-finals with the tie 1-1 after the first leg in Old Trafford. Ibrahimovic, 39, has been out for over two weeks, missing the away leg with an adductor muscle injury, while Algerian Bennacer has been sidelined since mid-February with a muscular problem.
“Ibra and Bennacer will be available, I’m happy with their recovery,” Pioli said in Milan. “Obviously (Ibrahimovic) can’t have the 90 minutes in his legs, but it’s an important return for us.”
However, Ante Rebic, Davide Calabria, Rafael Leao and Alessio Romagnoli are still doubts with various ailments. “The more choices I have, the better it is. Let’s see who will be there tomorrow. In any case, we have shown that we can do well even with absences,” the coach continued. Milan have a slight advantage thanks to Simon Kjaer’s stoppage-time away goal in the first leg at Old Trafford last week. Pioli credited Ibrahimovic and Dane Kjaer with lifting the team since their arrival in January 2020.
Despite a recent dip in form the team sit second in Serie A. “The arrival of Zlatan and Kjaer has helped improve our team in terms of character, they’re big voices on the pitch,” said Pioli. “Zlatan is a great champion and has given us a lot in terms of personality and depth. We’ve raised the bar, raised our own expectations.”
Solskjaer won’t measure Man United progress by trophies
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said yesterday Manchester United’s progress under his leadership should not be judged by how many trophies they win. Solskjaer’s side face a defining week in their season as they bid to move a step closer to the first silverware of the Norwegian’s reign.
United travel to AC Milan for a Europa League last-16 second-leg clash in a tie that is poised at 1-1 after the first meeting in Manchester. After that tricky test, United head to Leicester for an FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
But regardless of the results in those matches, United boss Solskjaer is convinced he has overseen a significant rise in standards since replacing the sacked Jose Mourinho in 2018. “When you see the culture and what’s happening every day, I feel a lot of improvement in the everyday routine and everyday work we do,” Solskjaer said.
“The boys have taken on board what we want and it’s for others to assess how much of an improvement. We’re 12 points ahead of what we were at the same time in the league last season. Of course we’re all aiming to win trophies. But, as we’ve said, sometimes a trophy can hide the other fact what’s happening at the club.”
Having lost at the semi-final stage of four successive cup competitions, the next few days are seen by fans and pundits as vital for Solskjaer’s job security. He has led United to second place in the Premier League, but they are 14 points behind leaders Manchester City.
The Europa League provided United’s last silverware in 2017, when Mourinho added it to that season’s League Cup. Before that, Mourinho’s predecessor Louis Van Gaal won the FA Cup during his reign.
But they are United’s only major silverware since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. However, while he is keen to win his first trophy as United boss, Solskjaer believes cup glory is less important than sustained league success.
Of the remaining Europa ties, only Rangers’ with Slavia Prague looks to be in the balance as they will kick off at Ibrox all square at 1-1 following their draw in the Czech Republic last week. Steven Gerrard’s side have already been crowned Scottish champions, although they will also have one eye on the Old Firm derby with Celtic at the weekend.
Four-time European champions Ajax and Roma are both virtually assured of passage into the next round as they are 3-0 ahead in their ties with Young Boys and Shakhtar Donetsk. Also strong favourites to go through are Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Villarreal and Granada thanks to their two-goal leads going into their second-leg matches. Olympiakos head to the Emirates to face Arsenal, who are fresh from a derby triumph over Tottenham, but face a battle at 3-1 down.
Europa League last 16
second leg fixtures
(kick-offs 2000 GMT unless stated; first-leg scores in brackets)
At Budapest (1755 GMT): Molde (NOR) v Granada (ESP) (0-2); At Zagreb (1755 GMT): Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) (0-2); At London (1755 GMT): Arsenal (ENG) v Olympiakos (GRE) (3-1); At Kiev (1755 GMT): Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) v Roma (ITA) (0-3); At Glasgow, Scotland: Rangers (SCO) v Slavia Prague (CZE) (1-1); At Milan, Italy: AC Milan (ITA) v Manchester United (ENG) (1-1); At Vila-real, Spain: Villarreal (ESP) v Dynamo Kiev (UKR) (2-0); At Bern: Young Boys (SUI) v Ajax (NED) (0-3)
AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recovered from adductor muscle injury, which had sidelined him for two weeks. (AFP)
