Evergreen Ibrahimovic pens one-year contract at Milan

By Sports Desk July 18, 2022

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will continue playing for Milan past the age of 41 after signing a one-year contract with the Rossoneri.

The Sweden international returned to San Siro in December 2019 after leaving Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy.

Ibrahimovic vowed he would end Milan's long wait for the Scudetto and subsequently delivered in the 2021-22 season as the Rossoneri won their first Serie A title in 11 years.

Injuries restricted the striker to just 12 appearances in all competitions last term, but only Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud (both 14) scored more goals than the 40-year-old's eight.

Ibrahimovic is expected to be out until January following an operation on his left knee, but Milan have rewarded the forward with a new contract to keep him at the club until June 2023.

Former Liverpool striker Divock Origi arrived earlier in the transfer window to bolster Pioli's attacking options as Milan aim to defend their Serie A title in the upcoming campaign, which the Rossoneri start at home to Udinese on August 13.

The Belgian scored 22 goals in 107 Premier League appearances for Jurgen Klopp's side, while only starting 34 of those matches, and will provide additional competition for striking options alongside Giroud, Leao and Ibrahimovic.

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    Shakhtar Donetsk staged a quick first-half comeback to earn a 2-1 home victory over Young Boys in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

    Both sides entered the game winless, and Young Boys grabbed the lead in the 27th minute when Kastriot Imeri struck from close range.

    But Shakhtar responded swiftly in Gelsenkirchen as Oleksandr Zubkov tapped in four minutes later to restore parity.

    And Heorhii Sudakov, who teed up the equaliser, then put Shakhtar ahead four minutes before the interval, with that goal proving enough to take maximum points.

    Shakhtar now have four for the campaign, while Young Boys are still waiting on their first point after four straight defeat to begin the campaign.

    Data Debrief: Breakthroughs at last on matchday four

    Not only were both teams looking for their first wins on Wednesday, neither had even found the net.

    Imeri broke Young Boys' duck with their 40th shot of the campaign, but the lead was short-lived as Shakhtar's 25th attempt of the season brought them level.

    The Ukrainian outfit went on to register their third Champions League home win in four matches as they pursue a place in the play-off round, while Young Boys are really up against it.

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  • Women's Super League predictions: Man City and Arsenal backed for victory Women's Super League predictions: Man City and Arsenal backed for victory

    Brighton have been one of the stories of the season so far, and head into matchday seven of the Women's Super League season in third place.

    Yet the Seagulls will face a huge test when they travel to face Arsenal on Friday, in one of two matches taking place that day to kick off the WSL weekend.

    League leaders Manchester City are also in action on Friday, taking on Tottenham.

    On Sunday, reigning champions Chelsea - fresh from a 5-0 win at Goodison Park - are back on Merseyside to play Liverpool.

    Four of the bottom five play each other, with Crystal Palace taking on Everton and West Ham going up against Leicester City, with Manchester United, who drew 1-1 with Arsenal last week, rounding out the weekend against Aston Villa.

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    ARSENAL V BRIGHTON

    Arsenal are unbeaten under interim boss Renee Slegers, and despite Brighton's fantastic start to the season, the Gunners are predicted to claim the points.

    They have a whopping 82.1% chance of victory on Friday, with Brighton's win probability at just 6.8%. The threat of a draw is 11.2%.

    Arsenal have a perfect record against Brighton in the WSL, winning all 12 of their meetings with them in the competition by an aggregate score of 44-2. Only Manchester City have a better 100% record against an opponent in the competition (16/16 v Everton).

    Brighton, though, have won four of their six league games this season (D1 L1), just one fewer victory than they managed across the whole of last season (W5 D4 L13). This is the Seagulls' best start after six matches of a WSL campaign.

    Arsenal are winless in their last three home games in the league (D2 L1) – only once have they had a longer run without a win on home soil in the competition (six between May-October 2014). Brighton, though, have never won back-to-back away matches in the competition (they beat Crystal Palace in their last away game).

    Nikita Parris has been in fine form for Brighton, and she will go up against her former club. No player has scored more goals in the WSL against their old teams than Parris (nine, level with Ellen White).

    Beth Mead could be the player to really stand out for Arsenal. Against no side does she have more combined WSL goals and assists than Brighton (12 – seven goals, five assists).

    MANCHESTER CITY V TOTTENHAM

    Arsenal are the most likely side to win, according to Opta's model, this weekend, but league leaders Man City are just behind them.

    City came out on top in 81.8% of the supercomputer's 10,000 pre-match simulations ahead of their game against Tottenham, whose win probability is 6.9%. 

    Spurs' only win on their four previous trips to face City in the WSL came in September 2021, coming from behind to win 2-1 (L3).

    City have won eight of their nine WSL meetings with Tottenham (L1), winning the last five in a row by an aggregate score of 16-1.

    Only Chelsea (20) have scored more goals in the 2024-25 WSL than Tottenham (12 – level with Man City), however only Palace (16) have conceded more goals than Spurs (14) this term.

    City have gone unbeaten through their opening six games of a WSL season for the fourth time after 2016, 2017-18 and 2018-19, while they have never lost in the competition when playing on a Friday (W3 D1), beating reigning champions Chelsea in their only such game last season (1-0 away).

    LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA

    Sonia Bampastor has had a brilliant start to life at Chelsea, and the Blues are expected to keep up that excellent form when they face Liverpool.

    Chelsea's win likelihood is 73.1%, while there is a 15.1% probability of a draw, while Liverpool's chances are rated at 11.8%.

    Bompastor could become the first manager to win each of their first four away games in the WSL. Chelsea have already scored 14 goals on the road this season, with the previous most scored under a manager after four away games being 11 by Jonas Eidevall's Arsenal. 

    Matt Beard, meanwhile, has won four of his 10 WSL meetings with Chelsea as Liverpool manager (D1 L5) – including his most recent in May 2024 (4-3) – with Nick Cushing (five) and David Parker (five) the only managers to win more games in the competition against the Blues.

    Chelsea have won their opening five games of a WSL season for the very first time and could be the sixth team to win their first six matches of a campaign after Arsenal (2018-19, 2021-22, 2022-23) and Man City (2016, 2017-18).

    This will be the 23rd WSL meeting between Liverpool and Chelsea with only Arsenal and Chelsea meeting more often in the competition (28 times).

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    CRYSTAL PALACE V EVERTON

    Things are not going well for Everton this season. They are bottom of the pile and without a win to their name.

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    Everton's two points is their joint-worst tally at this stage of a WSL campaign along with 2014, when they were relegated, and 2018-19 (finished 10th).

    Everton are, however, unbeaten in their last eight WSL games against newly-promoted opposition (W6 D2), winning each of their last four such away games by an aggregate score of 14-0.  

    Palace have lost all three of their home games in the WSL without scoring, conceding 11 goals in the process; only three teams have lost each of their first four matches on home soil in the competition: Yeovil Town in 2017 (-9 GD), Aston Villa in 2020 (-11 GD) and Leicester City in 2021 (-8 GD).

    WEST HAM V LEICESTER CITY

    West Ham are unbeaten in three previous home games against Leicester in the WSL (W2 D1), drawing this fixture 1-1 last season, and the Hammers are expected to end their wait for a win this season when they face the Foxes on Sunday.

    Leicester won just 25.6% of the model's simulations, while West Ham won 48.6%.

    West Ham are, however, the team that is most likely to finish bottom of the WSL this term, according to the supercomputer.

    The Hammers are winless in their last 15 WSL games (D6 L9) while their two points from six games this term is their worst return at this stage of a top-flight campaign (D2 L4).

    Indeed, West Ham have won fewer points (12 – W2 D6 L10) than any other ever-present team in the WSL in 2024, while they have lost each of their last five league games in the month of November, since beating Leicester 1-0 in 2022.

    Leicester, though, have won just one of their last 13 away games in the WSL (D6 L6), a 1-0 victory at Everton in January.

    MANCHESTER UNITED V ASTON VILLA

    Rounding off this round of matches is Man Utd's home game against Villa.

    Marc Skinner's team, who are still unbeaten, are backed to get the win at 73.4%, with Villa having a slender 11.2% chance.

    With just two points from six games, Villa have had their worst start to a WSL campaign (D2 L4) and this is the first time they have gone winless across their opening six matches.

    Villa have lost all four of their away meetings with United in the WSL, conceding 15 goals and netting just once in the process, with that sole goal coming in this fixture last season when losing 1-2.  

    United may be unbeaten, though they have drawn their last two WSL games. The Red Devils could draw three successive league matches for the first time since November 2021.

    Their success has been built on solid foundations this season. United have conceded just two goals after five league games, facing fewer than 10 shots in three of those matches.

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    The 22-year-old scored five breaks of serve on the way to becoming the youngest semi-finalist on her WTA Finals debut since Petra Kvitova in 2011.

    "Finally, I showed off some tennis I really want to play," she said. "Of course, when you enter the match, you are nervous, but at the same time, you feel confidence because you know your level. And I know how capable I am.

    "I remember in 2022, my serve was quite strong. I don't know why but, suddenly in 2023, my serve started to drop. In this tournament and the rest of this half-year, it is the first time I've felt like the serve is starting to come back."

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    The seventh seed also follows in the footsteps of Na and Kimiko Date in 1994 as one of three players representing an Asian country to reach the last four at the WTA Finals. 

    Sabalenka's place in the semi-finals was already secured, rendering her 6-4 3-6 6-1 defeat by Elena Rybakina academic, though ending a seven-match winning streak.

    Having shared the two meetings this season in Brisbane and Madrid, the players took a close set each here, but it was one-way traffic in the decider.

    In the final match of her first tournament since withdrawing from the US Open with a back injury, Rybakina did not face a single break point in the final set, while winning all 12 points on her first serve, to bow out with victory.

    Though academic, it was an historic victory for the Kazahstani, who became the first player representing an Asian country to defeat the world number one at the WTA Finals.

    Rybakina is also the fourth player to achieve six or more wins over the WTA's number one across a two-season span, after Tracy Austin (1979-80), Venus Williams (1999-00) and Lindsay Davenport (2000-01).

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