Milan defeated Atalanta 2-0 at San Siro to move level on points with second-place Inter in a match that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic make his first appearance in nine months.

Inter's surprise 1-0 loss to Bologna earlier on Sunday opened the door for Milan to pounce and they took full advantage on home soil with a fourth win in a row in all competitions.

Juan Musso's 25th-minute own goal – after Theo Hernandez's long-range volley hit the frame of goal and went in off the goalkeeper's back – put Stefano Pioli's side on their way.

The hosts, who also had fit-again keeper Mike Maignan back in their side for the first time since September, added a deserved second through Junior Messias late on following the long-awaited return of Ibrahimovic.

There was a slice of fortune involved in Milan's opener as Hernandez's sublime strike from 25 yards was helped over the line by Musso after the ball had hit the post.

Rafael Leao clipped the side-netting, fired over from a glorious position and was then denied by a fine Musso save as Milan struggled to make their superiority truly show.

Messias was the next Milan player to fire off target with plenty of the goal to aim for, with that proving to be the moment Pioli turned to Ibrahimovic.

The home side finally killed off the contest through Messias' clipped finish over Musso four minutes from time after being played through on goal by Leao.

Marcus Thuram will leave Borussia Moenchengladbach at the end of this season when his contract expires.

As a result, the 25-year-old French forward is garnering plenty of interest from top European clubs.

Thuram has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season for Gladbach, having been part of France's 2022 World Cup squad.

TOP STORY – THURAM OFFERED TO BARCELONA

Marcus Thuram's agent has offered the French forward to Barcelona as an off-season signing, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Thuram has interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Inter.

Barcelona's economic challenges mean they have prioritised signing players on free transfers in recent times with Thuram offering that plus flexibility in attack.

ROUND-UP

– Fichajes claims Cristiano Ronaldo wants Sergio Ramos to join him at Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, with the defender's contract with PSG to expire at the end of this season. Ramos will leave it late to make a decision, holding out hope for a PSG extension.

– Liverpool will battle Bayern Munich in the off-season for the signature of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, reports Calciomercatoweb.

– Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea are all interested in Inter's Marcelo Brozovic, with the Serie A club open to selling him, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

– Manchester United are weighing up a move for Bayer Leverkusen right-back Jeremie Frimpong, reports Football Insider. Fabrizio Romano claims numerous top clubs are interested in the Dutch defender.

– La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Liverpool are tracking Inter's Nicolo Barella as they look to bolster their midfield options.

– West Ham, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Brentford are all circling for Milan forward Olivier Giroud,  who is open to a return to England, claims The Sun.

Stefano Pioli has confirmed Mike Maignan will make his first appearance since September when Milan host Atalanta on Sunday, saying the goalkeeper has resembled a "lion in a cage" while out injured.

Maignan has been out since suffering a calf injury in France's 2-0 Nations League win over Austria on September 22, missing Les Bleus' run to the World Cup final in Qatar as well as a large portion of Milan's campaign. 

Ciprian Tatarusanu has made 16 league starts as Milan's stand-in goalkeeper this season, and the Romanian made several key saves in last week's hard-fought 1-0 win at Monza. 

However, Pioli is excited by the return of a goalkeeper he believes was Serie A's finest last season, with Maignan set to start against fellow top-four contenders Atalanta at San Siro.

"Mike will play," Pioli said at Saturday's pre-match press conference.

"Tata did his duty fully. He struggled in the beginning because he hadn't played for a long time, then he found rhythm and made a good contribution. He hasn't been very well lately. 

"Mike has been a lion in a cage, he's doing well and is very motivated, he will certainly give us a great contribution. He was the best goalkeeper last season and he gives us a lot.

"However, he is a player who hasn't played for five months. He will need some time, but we are expecting a lot and I am very happy with his return."

Maignan kept 17 clean sheets in 32 league games as Milan won the Scudetto last season – more than any other Serie A goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old's save percentage of 79.41 was only bettered by one goalkeeper to make at least 10 appearances in Serie A last term – Torino's Etrit Berisha with 80.49 per cent.

Maignan is not the only Milan star returning from a lengthy period on the sidelines, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic being an unused substitute on two occasions this month as he awaits his first outing since undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery. 

Asked whether the 41-year-old's long-awaited comeback could arrive on Sunday, Pioli said: "It could, the first call I made with him was to get him back with the group against Torino.

"Ibra is getting better and better. He knows how much he worked and suffered to be available again. Now he's available, he's ready to play."

Milan have won their last three matches across all competitions, with each victory coming via a 1-0 scoreline. 

The Rossoneri are yet to win four consecutive games at any point this season, while they have not posted four successive victories without conceding since February 2018 (a run of five).

Thomas Tuchel has been out of a job since being sacked by Chelsea in September but could be on the brink of a return to action. 

The German has previously led top European clubs Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and the Blues, whom he took to the 2020-21 Champions League title.

The 49-year-old has been linked with numerous vacant posts in recent months but reportedly turned down two Premier League offers.

TOP STORY – PSG WILLING TO ADMIT TUCHEL ERROR

PSG have grown frustrated with head coach Christophe Galtier and are ready to move to re-appoint Thomas Tuchel, claims the Evening Standard.

The club sacked Tuchel in December 2020 after two and a half years in charge with the best win percentage in Ligue 1 history.

But PSG are reportedly willing to admit their mistake in letting him go as they try to convince Tuchel to return following their recent run of three straight defeats, which was ended by Sunday's 4-3 win over Lille.

The report claims Tuchel would need assurances from the club, but it is the type of role he has been waiting for, joining a top side competing for major trophies.

ROUND-UP

– Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio is being monitored by Tottenham, according to Football Insider. Spurs will need to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United for the 27-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of this season.

– Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are all circling for Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram, reports Talksport. The Athletic claims Thuram will exit Gladbach in the off-season as a free agent, with Bayern Munich also interested.

– Relevo reports Bayern are weighing up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, with head coach Julian Nagelsmann an admirer, although no contact has been made yet.

– ESPN claims Manchester United and teenage sensation Alejandro Garnacho have agreed in principle to a new five-year contract, warding off interest.

– Manchester United will need to fork out €80million (£71m) to land Tammy Abraham from Roma, reports Calciomercatoweb.

– Juventus will move for Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz after this season, claims Calciomercatoweb. Diaz is currently on loan at Milan, but the Rossoneri will not trigger their option to buy him.

Stefano Pioli believes Milan could have ridden out their recent slump and still won the Serie A title if not for Napoli's "exceptional" season.

Milan are fourth in the table, having gone a costly five league matches without a win across January and the start of February.

Still, the Rossoneri were not in a dissimilar position at this stage of last season, in third place before rallying to win the Scudetto.

Pioli received the top honour at the Panchina d'Oro – Italian football's coaching awards – on Monday in recognition of that stunning Milan triumph.

But the coach knows there will be no repeat this year as leaders Napoli are 18 points ahead.

Although Milan are five points down on where they were after 23 games of 2021-22, they still only trail Inter in second by three points. Napoli are the clear outliers.

"We were in position until the 'famous' period of decline," Pioli told reporters at Coverciano. "And then anyway we would still be in position if Napoli were not having the season they are having.

"We must be honest in saying that Napoli are doing something exceptional, we must congratulate them.

"Otherwise all the other teams of our level would be there to play for the title within a few points – as it was last season."

Stefano Pioli credited his Milan players for their efforts in a "perfect week" after Junior Messias' goal guided them to victory at Monza.

Messias' well-taken volley ensured Milan secured a third 1-0 win in the space of eight days, having previously gone seven games without winning across all competitions. 

While that run left Milan's Scudetto defence in tatters, the Rossoneri are third in the Serie A table after keeping three clean sheets in a row for the first time since a run of seven ended last April.

Having seen Milan build on Tuesday's Champions League last-16 victory against Tottenham, Pioli hailed his team's powers of recovery and challenged them to kick on.

"It was the perfect week, we can start over from here," Pioli said at his post-match press conference. "We haven't even conceded a goal and we're on the right track. 

"We needed to regain unity, the difference now isn't tactics but the desire we've regained to win, to compete for the second balls. 

"Monza were brilliant in the second half but we fought until the end and this is important. It's a shame we didn't finish the game in the second half."

Milan have now won back-to-back Serie A games for the first time since the Italian top flight restarted after the World Cup, having only tasted victory twice in their previous five league contests.

Pioli's decision to switch to a three-man backline has provoked Milan's revival, with wing-backs Messias and Theo Hernandez impressing once again at Monza.

Asked about Milan's change of system, Pioli said: "We'll go back to playing with four when we find the right characteristics. 

"Malik Thiaw gives us physicality and the possibility of duelling with physical forwards. The other players also have the characteristics to play in a three."

Milan climbed into Serie A's top four as Junior Messias secured a 1-0 win at Monza, whose owner Silvio Berlusconi failed to get one over on his old club.

Messias fired home on the turn just after the half-hour mark after Monza – who entered the game as Serie A's only unbeaten team in 2023 – twice went close in a fast start to Saturday's match.

Monza played their part in a lively affair but were unable to give Berlusconi – who bankrolled Milan to five European crowns – a result to cherish against his beloved Rossoneri.

Milan were able to claim victory without calling on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first time this season, with the striker again an unused substitute as they moved above Atalanta and Roma into third place.

Ciprian Tatarusanu was forced into action twice in the first two minutes, turning Patrick Ciurria's attempt away at the near post before denying Andrea Petagna from the resulting corner.

Rafael Leao saw a dipping 25-yard strike brush the post as Milan played their way into the game, while Michele Di Gregorio made two sharp saves to keep out Brahim Diaz and Fikayo Tomori.

Di Gregorio was finally beaten 31 minutes in, however, getting a hand to Messias' powerful left-footed volley but failing to stop the ball from finding the bottom-right corner.

Ciurria drilled a 20-yard effort against the foot of the post with 17 minutes remaining, but Milan stood firm and almost added a second through Charles De Ketelaere. 

Nicolo Zaniolo would have been willing to accept a lower wage to secure a move to Milan or Tottenham in the January transfer window.

That is according to the player's mother, who revealed Zaniolo wanted to move to either San Siro or north London after Roma head coach Jose Mourinho made it clear he was happy for the midfielder to leave.

Neither Milan nor Spurs were willing to match Roma's asking price for Zaniolo, however, with only Bournemouth initially willing to do so.

Francesca Costa said her son had even agreed to join the Premier League strugglers before the closure of January's window, but by that time they had already signed Hamed Traore on loan from Sassuolo.

The 23-year-old finally sealed a move to Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray for a reported fee of €16.5million last week.

"I want to clarify one thing, Nicolo would have reduced his salary or would have asked for the same money as at Roma for a move to Milan or Tottenham, but those clubs didn't find an agreement with Roma," Costa told Corriere dello Sport.

"At that point there was Bournemouth... Later, he accepted Bournemouth's offer, but when we called them back they had already taken another player."

Zaniolo joined Roma from Serie A rivals Inter in 2018 and went on to score 24 goals in 128 appearances for the club, though he spent significant periods on the sidelines after suffering two long-term knee injuries during his time in the Italian capital.

France's record goalscorer Olivier Giroud has decided against retiring from international football and hopes that is music to the ears of Didier Deschamps.

The 36-year-old Milan striker was toying with halting his career with Les Bleus following their defeat on penalties to Argentina in the December 18 World Cup final.

However, Giroud feels he has still plenty to give his country in an active role, and the man who has netted 53 goals in 120 games will aim to be a part of the group heading into the upcoming European Championship campaign.

It may help Giroud's cause that Real Madrid's Karim Benzema has retired from France duty, having missed the Qatar 2022 finals due to injury.

Speaking to French broadcaster France 2, Giroud said: "No, no, it's not over. Emotions, I hope there will still be some to come.

"I'm not ready to hang up [my boots], to take off this blue jersey which is close to my heart.

"I have the motivation to continue and the physique too, I feel good. For the moment I am still selectable and a player of the France team "

Head coach Deschamps, who was retained after deciding he too was not ready to step away from Les Bleus, saw Giroud score four goals during France's World Cup run.

They came up just short of a successful title defence, with Giroud grabbing a vital quarter-final winner against England among his contribution.

Giroud overtook Thierry Henry to become France's top scorer during the World Cup campaign, surpassing the former Arsenal and Barcelona striker's haul of 51 national team goals.

Captain Hugo Lloris, along with fellow goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and defender Raphael Varane, retired from France duty after the World Cup.

France begin their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with Group B games against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland in March.

Liverpool and Newcastle United are reportedly among the Premier League teams exploring a potential move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah – and the interest could be mutual.

Tah, 26, is in his eighth season in Leverkusen after arriving ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, racking up 283 appearances in all competitions and earning 16 senior international caps for Germany.

After five consecutive seasons finishing in the Bundesliga's top-six, Leverkusen have struggled this campaign, with just seven wins and a negative goal difference after 19 games, leaving them 10th.

Facing an uphill battle for any European football next season, the club will reportedly struggle to convince Tah to stick around, especially with plenty of interest from his desired landing spot in the Premier League.

TOP STORY – TAH SETS HIS SIGHTS ON THE PREMIER LEAGUE

According to 90min, Tah is "keen to take his talents to England at the end of the season".

He has two more seasons on his contract, tying him to Leverkusen until 2025, leaving the club with a difficult decision about whether to hang on to one of their top players or cash in and use the funds to improve the squad.

As well as Liverpool and Newcastle, West Ham are also understood to have touched base with Leverkusen about Tah's availability in January, while his name also came up in discussions with Tottenham, but they are said to prefer his centre-back partner Piero Hincapie.

ROUND-UP

– The Mirror is reporting Tottenham are admirers of 26-year-old Leicester City midfielder James Maddison. 

– According to El Nacional, Real Madrid have held talks with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp about potentially taking over from Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season, and Klopp is said to have requested the Spanish giants pursue Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.

– Milan have an interest in signing 27-year-old Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita, per the Mirror, while the Daily Mail adds the Italian side are also impressed by 21-year-old Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun, who has 14 Ligue 1 goals for Reims this season.

– Manchester United and Newcastle are said to be two of many clubs keeping a close eye on 18-year-old Royal Antwerp prospect Arthur Vermeeren, per the Daily Mail.

– Fabrizio Romano is reporting United, Arsenal and Liverpool have all held talks with the agent of 20-year-old Barcelona forward Ansu Fati.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has promised a "change of tone" at Milan as he nears a return to action.

Ibrahimovic has not featured this season, having undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly after Milan ended an 11-year wait to win the Serie A title in May.

While Milan started respectfully in his absence, they have slipped to sixth in Serie A – 18 points adrift of leaders Napoli – after going five league games without a win.

Milan failed to record a single shot on target in a meek derby defeat to Inter last time out, and their winless run is their worst in Serie A since April 2018.

However, Ibrahimovic believes Milan have overcome more challenging times since he returned for a second spell at the club in 2020, and foresees a return to form.

"When I arrived three years ago, people spoke of a situation that was worse than now. In reality, it's not as bad as some people say," Ibrahimovic told the club's media channels.

"In one or two years, we did fantastic things, and we're still doing great things.

"I call situations like this moments, because it's a moment where there's been a drop and we're struggling, but we need to return to form as quickly as possible.

"It's not as if anybody's happy with our form. We're all working to change things so we can get back to how we were before the World Cup. This season is a bit different, but this isn't an excuse. 

"Is it a coincidence that this club has won 19 league titles and seven Champions Leagues? Great champions have played here. This is Milan, and Milan needs to win. Coincidences don't exist."

Ibrahimovic handed Milan a huge boost by returning to team training last week, and though it remains to be seen how soon he can return to competitive action, the 41-year-old striker is raring to go.

"I'm one of many in this team. I haven't been available for a long time and this has been disappointing because when you're a player, you always want to help both on and off the pitch," he said.

"Unfortunately, in these first six or seven months, I wasn't able to play. In good times and during difficult moments, you always want to be there because you are one of them. 

"For me, football is everything. It's where I feel at my peak, where the best of me comes out, and I transform into a different person. When I return, there will be a change in tone."

Stefano Pioli's decision to employ a three-man defence in Sunday's 1-0 derby defeat to Inter erased years of good work with the Rossoneri, according to legendary former boss Arrigo Sacchi.

Lautaro Martinez's first-half goal condemned Milan to another chastening defeat at San Siro, meaning they have gone five league games without a win for the first time since 2018.

Last season's Scudetto winners have now lost four consecutive games in all competitions, and they sit 18 points adrift of runaway leaders Napoli after slumping to sixth place in Serie A.

Milan failed to attempt a single shot on target in the game after opting to match Inter's 3-5-2 system, and Sacchi says the Rossoneri no longer resemble a coherent side. 

"Milan were no longer a team, especially in the first half. Inter did not play against an opponent, but against a sparring partner," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.

"Switching to a three-man defence created confusion and erased the last few years of work. Furthermore, any idea of the game was cancelled. 

"How many shots on goal did Milan make in the first half? Zero. It was a monologue from Inter who didn't struggle too much and ended up dominating. 

"Simone Inzaghi's players are almost all of a high level and all have great experience. You can only win against Inter if you play as a team, something that Milan did not do."

Milan required 58 minutes to attempt a shot in Sunday's game, the latest point at which they have managed their first effort of a Serie A fixture on record (since the 2004-05 season), and mustered just four efforts, with none on target, for an accumulative expected goals (xG) of 0.3.

They face Torino in their next league fixture on Friday, before hosting Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie four days later.

Liverpool are expected to bid for Athletic Bilbao duo Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet at the end of the season.

Williams is one of LaLiga's brightest young stars, with the 20-year-old winger having already earned seven senior caps for Spain, including four appearances at the World Cup in Qatar.

Attacking midfielder Sancet, 22, netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Cadiz on Saturday to take his tally of LaLiga goals this season to seven.

Williams in particular received heavy interest during the January transfer window, but Bilbao will reportedly be faced with tough decisions about both players at the conclusion of the campaign.

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE SIDES TAKE A LIKING TO BILBAO PAIR

According to AS, Liverpool were joined by fellow Premier League side Aston Villa in testing Bilbao's resolved over Williams in January, although they were informed no figure would be accepted below his €50million (£45m) release clause.

That report also mentions Sancet's release clause is only slightly lower at €45m (£40m), while Fichajes add he has received interest from Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Both players only have 18 months remaining on their contracts, meaning Bilbao will either need to sort out some extensions or be prepared to cash in.

ROUND-UP

– The Sun is reporting Manchester City, Milan and Inter are all admirers of Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson, although they will not meet the £35m asking price.

– According to the Daily Star, City will look to avoid any further depletion of their full-back stocks by offering Rico Lewis a new contract that would quadruple his salary.

– Journalist Rudy Galetti is reporting Galatasaray have agreed personal terms with out-of-favour Roma attacker Nicolo Zaniolo, and have offered a fee of €22m to the Serie A club.

– Newcastle United and Fulham target Sander Berge wants to remain with Sheffield United until his contract expires in 2024, with the Norway international excited by the club's potential Premier League promotion, per The Sun.

– According to Football Insider, Newcastle will return after the season for another attempt at signing Conor Gallagher, with the belief Chelsea would have allowed him to leave in January if their signing of Enzo Fernandez had been completed sooner.

Milan boss Stefano Pioli defended his decision to start with Rafael Leao on the bench after his struggling team went down 1-0 to Inter in Sunday's derby.

Last season's champions sit sixth in Serie A after 21 games, in danger of failing to qualify for next season's Champions League unless they buck up their ideas.

They have lost four games in a row, with losses to Inter in the Supercoppa and Serie A sandwiching a 4-0 drubbing by Lazio and a 5-2 mauling at home by Sassuolo.

It was league duty on Sunday, and Leao was only a substitute, despite being a two-goal hero in September when Milan took the derby spoils 3-2 to keep pace with early bolters Napoli.

While Napoli have kept up their early frantic pace, and now sit 13 points clear of second-placed Inter, Milan have lost all momentum.

Pioli began against Inter with former Liverpool fringe man Divock Origi alongside Olivier Giroud in attack, abandoning the partnership early in the second half when the ineffective Origi was hauled off and Leao made his entrance.

The skilful Portuguese forward almost teed up an equaliser for Giroud, but the French striker's control was awful and the chance was lost, but that moment of fast-paced dribbling excellence highlighted Leao's threat.

"He has enormous potential," said Pioli, "but I chose to play with two centre-forwards who are closer vertically to put Inter's defence in difficulty, even if we didn't succeed.

"I trust a lot in Leao, even if he didn't start from the beginning. The choices I made are the best for what I saw during the week, for what the preparation for the match was and for the positions I wanted to fill."

With the benefit of hindsight, Pioli said he would "do it again" when asked about Leao's omission.

In all, Milan have not won for seven games, and they face Torino on Friday before a Champions League tussle with Tottenham the following Tuesday.

Tottenham's former Inter boss Antonio Conte may be licking his lips at that prospect, with Milan's defending leaving plenty to be desired in recent weeks.

Lautaro Martinez headed in Hakan Calhanoglu's corner for the only goal of the derby, and Pioli accepted his players were found lacking.

"Unfortunately we found ourselves unprepared once again on a dead ball," he said. "Up to that moment, we were working well as a team. We did better in the second half."

Pioli knows the drastic slide in form has left many Milan supporters agog, and he said: "The fans have every right to criticise, the last few performances haven't been up to par."

Yet Pioli still has the support of the dressing room, according to midfielder Rade Krunic.

Krunic told DAZN: "If you lose such an important match there are few positive things. The only thing to take away is the reaction in the second half, where we did better than in the first half.

"We seemed to be doing better in training than today. We believe in Pioli."

Simone Inzaghi felt Inter were "perfect" as they beat struggling Milan 1-0 in the most dominant derby display he can remember.

Captain Lautaro Martinez's first-half header inflicted a fourth successive defeat on the Rossoneri at San Siro on Sunday.

Milan failed to register a shot on target and are down in sixth place in Serie A after their miserable winless run was extended to seven games.

The Nerazzurri, on the other hand, are second behind runaway leaders Napoli following a third win in a row after also seeing off their city rivals 3-0 in Supercoppa Italiana last month.

While Napoli look like they could be out of sight with a 13-point advantage at the summit, Inter head coach Inzaghi believes a commanding derby display shows they continue to make strides.

He said: "I'm very satisfied, I complimented the team because they were perfect, I don't remember a derby won and dominated in this way.

"We had a great derby, winning two in I think 20 days don't always happen. We don't look forward or backward in the standings, but only at us."

Under-pressure Milan boss Stefano Pioli went with a more defensive line-up in a bid to arrest the champions' slide, but Inzaghi's focus was on how his side approached the game.

He added: "There's been talk about it for days [Pioli's tactics]. I have to be honest that I was worried about mine, regardless of how Milan played.

"Every Sunday we meet three or four [man] defences. Tonight in the first half we bordered on perfection. In the second we did very well and conceded the first shot in the 75th minute. It's a great satisfaction."

Another big plus for Inzaghi was a substitute appearance for Marcelo Brozovic, the first time he has featured for Inter since November.