DBasia.news – AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided not to take any more penalties following his last failure from point 12 against Hellas Verona on Monday (9/11).
Even so, the veteran man made amends during injury time by scoring the equalizer in a 2-2 draw.
In the match that was held at the San Siro last night, Verona had a two-goal lead through Antonin Barak in the sixth minute and Davide Calabria’s suicide in the 19th minute. Milan then lowered the score eight minutes later after Franck Kessie’s flick to greet Alexis Saelemaekers’ attractive bait on Giangacomo Magnani’s body.
Milan, who needed a goal, continued to press the Verona defense and got a penalty in the 66th minute after Matteo Lovato kicked Kessie’s leg. Ibrahimvoic, who came on as executor, failed to do the job after his shot bounced over the bar, but he made up for it in the final minutes of the match.
The former Manchester United man has taken five penalties this season and three of them have failed.
After the match, Ibrahimovic told Sky Sport Italia: “I’m angry, of course, because today’s draw wasn’t good enough.
“We had so many chances, I missed the penalty and I think I’ll give Kessie the next one! It is better.”
“We conceded two goals, replied to two, we attacked and the important thing is not to lose confidence. Looking at the table now, we want to win every game.”
Despite last night’s draw, Milan temporarily top the Serie A standings unbeaten entering the international break as they are two points ahead of Sassuolo.
With the next match taking place on November 22 against Napoli at the San Paolo, Ibrahimovic admits he will take this break to rest.
“Now there are a lot of games and when you are tired you are not always 100 percent,” he continued.
“Fortunately, the international break has arrived, because I need to rest. I lacked the usual sharpness and determination in front of goal. I felt like I wasn’t there.”
“We have to play to reach the target, we can’t go out on the pitch and just feel happy to play. At least it applies to me, it’s not my philosophy.”
An impressive start to the season took Milan by surprise, with major contenders like Juventus, Napoli and Inter all having had inconsistent campaigns so far, and Ibrahimovic feels Serie A is currently a balanced competition.
“I see more teams now that are struggling to get higher in the standings and it’s not a team like Atalanta in the past,” said Ibrahimovic. “I have played in many countries and I can confirm that Italy is the toughest for attackers.”
“There are many teams that are challenging to be at the top, there are some who have not yet reached the top. It is a tight league, so a team in the best condition will eventually win the Scudetto.”
