Olivier Giroud's superb header saw Milan end a five-game winless streak in Serie A but Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to wait for his comeback in a 1-0 victory over Torino.

Milan, playing their 3,000th Serie A game, had lost their last four matches in all competitions heading into Friday's tussle at San Siro, but they came away with the points thanks to Giroud's moment of quality.

Theo Hernandez teed up that goal but then missed a golden chance to double Milan's lead.

However, the champions held firm to get back on the winning trail, ensuring the only disappointment for the home fans was that veteran forward Ibrahimovic – back from injury – did not come on from the bench for his first appearance since May last year.

With Ibrahimovic poised on the bench, the first half in Milan unfurled more like a warm-up support show before the headline act.

Giroud and Antonio Sanbria lodged the only on-target shots of a low-wattage opening half, with the Milan strikers' header snuffed out by visiting goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the 29th minute.

Having resisted the urge to call on Ibrahimovic, Stefano Pioli was rewarded by an improved display after the break, with Milinkovic-Savic almost spilling Giroud's low effort over the line.

Milan's breakthrough came just after the hour, however, with Giroud rocketing a header home from Hernandez's cross.

Hernandez should have settled the nerves for Milan after latching onto Pierre Kalulu's excellent pass in the 76th minute, only to drill wide of a gaping goal.

Fortunately for Hernandez, Torino could not make Milan pay as the Rossoneri extended their unbeaten home run against them to 27 Serie A matches.

Stefano Pioli has defended Milan's decision to not sign a new goalkeeper, despite first choice Mike Maignan still being ruled out indefinitely.

Maignan has not played for Milan since injuring his calf during France's 2-0 Nations League win over Austria on September 22.

The 27-year-old was subsequently ruled out of France's World Cup campaign and has now missed Milan's past 20 matches, with veteran goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu deputising.

Reigning Italian champions Milan's form has nosedived since the turn of the year, having gone seven matches without a win in all competitions, losing five of those.

Milan are unsure when Maignan will return, meaning Tatarusanu is set to start Friday's league game with Torino and next week's Champions League last-16 first leg with Tottenham.

It was previously suggested Milan's board were behind the decision to not recruit an established keeper in January, but Pioli has confirmed he also had a say in the matter.

"The choice was mine and that of the technical team," he said at Thursday's pre-match press conference ahead of facing Torino. 

"We have faith in Tatarusanu and we think that Maignan could be back in action soon."

Asked exactly when he expects Maignan to return to the side, Pioli said: "I don't know. His recovery is progressing well and he's returned to the field, albeit not with the team."

In better news on the injury front for Milan, veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to team training last week and is closing in on a comeback after nine months out injured.

Pioli, whose side have slipped to sixth and are 18 points off leaders Napoli, suggested Ibrahimovic may play a part against Torino.

"He's feeling better," Pioli said. "His role in the side is to be a great motivator and a great player. He'll be with us tomorrow because he wants to be with us."

Rafael Leao is pushing for a recall after being named as a substitute in Milan's past two Serie A games – not since between March and July 2020 has he been benched three games in a row.

"Leao is important for me and the team," Pioli said of the Chelsea-linked forward, who has nine goals and seven assists in 28 appearances this season.

"He's back from the World Cup and played well against Salernitana before losing a bit of his brilliance. He's much happier when he's playing, but I see a motivated and focused player."

Pioli is aiming to avoid losing four successive Serie A games as a manager for only the second time, having previously done so in 2012 as Bologna head coach.

Milan have lost their past two meetings with seventh-place Torino – not since 1969 have they lost three in a row in this fixture – and Pioli accepts an improvement is needed.

"They are a tricky team to play against," he said. "They have caused problems by pressing all over the pitch.

"We have to move a lot better and do something different compared to our past two games against them."

As their Serie A rivals attempt to turn back time, champions Milan are looking to the future.

Romelu Lukaku, Inter's 2020-21 Scudetto hero, and Paul Pogba, the winner of four straight championships at Juventus, have returned to their former clubs following ultimately unsuccessful Premier League stints.

Of course, this is a move that worked for Milan last season, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic had played for three different clubs in three different countries between featuring in the Rossoneri's two most recent title-winning campaigns.

Ibrahimovic, soon to turn 41, has signed up for another season, but there is a young, exciting core to the Milan team who secured that latest title and will now bid to defend it.

Young stars repay Pioli's faith

Milan had the fourth-youngest average age of their starters in Serie A last season (25y 337d), older only than Empoli (24y 325d), Spezia (24y 334d) and Torino (25y 189d).

And this average was dragged up significantly by Ibrahimovic and Olivier Giroud.

Among the 10 outfield players to start 20 or more league games for Milan in 2021-22, nine were below that average age at the end of the season, with Giroud (35y 233d) the exception.

Giroud scored 11 goals, including two the day the Rossoneri won the title at Sassuolo, but even he made only 22 starts as Stefano Pioli showed faith in his young charges.

Pierre Kalulu (21 starts) was 21 on the final day; Rafael Leao (31 starts), Sandro Tonali (31 starts), Brahim Diaz (25 starts) and Alexis Saelemaekers (22 starts) were all 22; Theo Hernandez (30 starts) and Fikayo Tomori (30 starts) were both 24; and the now departed Franck Kessie (25 starts) was 25, along with Davide Calabria (24 starts).

Of those, only Diaz was not in the XI at Sassuolo, with the 28-year-old Rade Krunic preferred.

That this young Milan side held their nerve on that day – needing to avoid defeat to ensure they could not be pipped at the post by Inter – justified Pioli's approach, and the club have seemingly sought to get even younger ahead of their title defence.

Milan boosted by Belgium pair

Realistically, given the financial power of other clubs across Europe, Milan have had little choice but to pay for potential rather than proven performers.

Yet their early moves in this close season sought to find a blend of the two, as Milan honed in on two stars of Lille's shock 2020-21 Ligue 1 title success.

Centre-back Sven Botman, only 22, was a favourite of Paolo Maldini, while Renato Sanches, 24, appeared a good fit for a midfield set to be robbed of Kessie following his move to Barcelona as a free agent.

Unfortunately, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain – backed by Saudi Arabia's PIF and Qatar's QSI respectively – outmuscled Milan in both cases.

Instead, Kalulu could be set to start again alongside Tomori, and Tommaso Pobega, returning from a loan at Torino and now 23, is a likely replacement for Kessie.

Milan have preferred to focus their limited budget on the attack, successfully holding off rival interest to sign Charles De Ketelaere.

The Belgium international, who turned 21 in March, contributed 14 goals and nine assists in 39 First Division A matches for Club Brugge last term.

De Ketelaere was the second-youngest player in the Belgian top flight to tally at least five goals and five assists for the season – after Anderlecht's Bayern Munich loanee Joshua Zirkzee (16 goals, nine assists).

He will now link up with Leao (11 goals, eight assists), who was the second-youngest to achieve that feat in Serie A in 2021-22 – after Sassuolo's Giacomo Raspadori (10 goals, five assists).

Even De Ketelaere's Belgium team-mate Divock Origi – another new forward signing, set to become Milan's latest experienced option up front – is only 27.

Still young, now experienced

The signing of Origi, an elder statesman in the Milan dressing room, would actually have made Serie A rivals Juventus (27y 319d) and Inter (29y 73d) younger.

Indeed, Inter were the third-oldest team in Serie A last season – after Sampdoria (29y 212d) and Lazio (29y 217d) – with their squad already in need of regeneration a year after winning the Scudetto.

There is no danger of Milan being in the same position, with their young side getting younger and extending their window in which they can expect to contend for further titles.

The Rossoneri were comfortably the youngest champions across Europe's top five leagues last season, with Champions League victors Real Madrid (28y 95d) the oldest.

Milan's title winners will undoubtedly benefit from their 2021-22 experiences, too.

Leao (85), Tonali (60), Diaz (47), Saelemaekers (45), Tomori (34) and Kalulu (13) had each played comfortably fewer than 100 games in Europe's top five leagues heading into the previous campaign. Kalulu had tallied a mere 727 minutes prior to his breakout year.

In the Champions League, they were even greener. Besides Giroud, who had played 41 games and started 25, those nine other Serie A regulars had made just 11 combined appearances and five combined starts in Europe's elite club competition up to that point.

Milan's European campaign did not pan out as they would have hoped, losing their first three group stage matches and finishing bottom of the table in a punishing pool, but there was a dramatic away win at Atletico Madrid, and the Rossoneri twice took the game to eventual finalists Liverpool.

There may be departures along the way – and Milan will hope to receive a fee, unlike in Kessie's case – but this team should continue to grow together.

If Milan's players progress as they have done so far, there will be plenty more title challenges – and perhaps even a tilt at an eighth European crown soon enough.

Manchester United are preparing for a complete overhaul of the playing group in the upcoming transfer window as incoming manager Erik ten Hag begins to build things his way.

Ten Hag, who is arriving from Ajax, has reportedly already seen enough of a number of regular contributors at United, and they will make way for players he believes can get the club back to their former glory.

Forward, midfielders and defenders are all on the chopping block, with very few positions expected to be safe heading into 2022-23.

TOP STORY – TEN HAG TO SWING THE AXE AT UNITED

The Sun is reporting United "could sell" Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Alex Telles at the next opportunity.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports claims United's needs include a new centre-back, two central midfielders, a winger and a striker in what could shape up as a complete rebuild.

One player who will reportedly get a chance to prove his worth at Old Trafford once he returns from loan is Donny van de Beek, who played for Ten Hag at Ajax.

West Ham's Declan Rice is also high on the Dutchman's wishlist, per The Guardian, while the Telegraph claims Benfica striker Darwin Nunez is a key target.

ROUND-UP

– Sky Sports Germany is reporting RB Leipzig have no interest in parting ways with Christopher Nkunku next season, despite interest from United and Arsenal.

– According to Goal, Milan are keen to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who spent two seasons at Inter before rejoining Chelsea this season.

– Real Madrid are monitoring Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, per AS.

– Manchester City and Newcastle United are both interested in 18-year-old Rangers academy midfielder Alex Lowry, according to Football Insider.

– Todofichajes reports that Christian Eriksen has agreed to return to Tottenham when his contract with Brentford expires at the end of this season.