Zlatan Ibrahimovic reaches 500 club career goals in Milan’s dominant win

Sunday was not only a huge day for the red and black half of Milan, but also for the talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Swede was sitting on 499 club goals ahead of his clash with relegation-threatened Crotone, and a waiting fanbase was hoping to see three points won and a historic milestone at the famous San Siro.

Not the type to disappoint, Ibrahimovic delivered – as always.

The 39-year-old offered a classic display of predatory attacking instinct, devastating movement and talent that can only be polished with endless experience and youthful hunger in Milan’s 4-0 victory over Crotone.

In doing so, he scored 500 and 501 goals in his club career – an exceptional achievement for any footballer, at all levels.

Ibrahimovic played the role of mini-villain from the start, strolling offside as he prepared for Davide Calabria’s strike, which was ruled out due to the Swede’s complacency. Don’t worry though. If there is a man who takes minor deviations as personally as Michael Jordan in The last dance, this is Ibra.

The striker only needed half an hour to reach his personal goal, and when he did, he did it in style. Recovering the ball from the edge of the box, Ibra weighed his options for a split second, before pushing a square pass to Rafael Leao.

Hardly had the ball left his foot, the Swede was gone. He sprinted behind the Crotone defense, ghosting past a cluster of statues and timing his movement perfectly. Leao spotted this masterclass in offensive instinct and split the endline with a wonderful through ball.

Ibrahimovic glanced at the goalkeeper and placed his shot calmly in the far corner. No messing around. Beautiful things.

Not content with the 500 goals, the Milan star set off in search of the number 501. He had to wait until the second half, but that was another big goal when he finally arrived. This time the applause must go to his teammates.

Theo Hernandez walked past a set of mannequins to reach the sideline on the left wing and rolled the ball across the goal face – where any striker worthy of the name would have to wait.

You guessed it, Ibra was there. Not scored with the freedom of the entire six-meter penalty area, the attacker had the simple job of kicking the ball over the line.

Two more goals followed and other people shone with Hakan Calhanoglu securing two assists on his return from quarantine but the day belonged to Ibrahimovic. His game ended prematurely, when he was substituted with 13 minutes left, but his afternoon shift was already over.

Milan have climbed back to the top of the Serie A table with three key points, overtaking Inter and reminding them who is the boss of this exciting and breathless campaign.

It will be an uphill battle for which team ultimately wins the scudetto (if Juventus don’t sneak up and pinch him again), but with Zlatan in the ranks of I Rossoneri, you can’t keep from thinking that this is the last twist. his sensational career.

Here are 500 more!