Ibrahimovic: I'll celebrate like a God at San Siro, not Cagliari

Zlatan Ibrahimovic plans to "celebrate like a God" when he scores at San Siro having opted to strike a calm pose after netting in his first start since returning to Milan against Cagliari.

Milan ended a miserable run of three straight games without a goal with a 2-0 away win on Saturday, Ibrahimovic scoring his side's second midway through the second half with an excellent first-time finish. 

A deflected strike from Rafael Leao had given Stefano Pioli's men the lead just after half-time. Ibrahimovic, who came off the bench in the 0-0 San Siro draw with Sampdoria, is saving his biggest celebration until he scores on home soil.

"I'll celebrate like a God at San Siro, not here," the 38-year-old told Sky Sport Italia. "I celebrate God every time I score, that way I feel alive! It's important for a striker to try and be there, then sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. I got a few balls wrong at the start of the game, but I need a few matches to get into shape."

Of Pioli checking on Ibrahimovic in the second half, the striker added: "I feel good, the coach just wanted to think about my age and see if I needed a rest, but there's no problem. My mind is still sharp and the body has to follow. We played with two strikers and two wingers to push the whole team further forward, and it went well."

 

January 11, 2020

Pioli felt Ibrahimovic's presence was already being felt, adding: "This was certainly a different performance to recent outings. 

"We were more effective, more solid. Zlatan's presence clearly gives us a reference point to build around and it will take us a while to really get to know each other. Ibrahimovic probably won't run into space that much, so we need someone around him who can do the running, as we saw Leao, Samu Castillejo and Hakan Calhanoglu, then Giacomo Bonaventura do. We have only just started working on this system, but the early signs are positive."