Ibrahimovic helps secure victory for Milan over Rovers

AC Milan advanced to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League after defeating Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in Dublin in the single tie.

In normal times a tie like this for Shamrock Rovers versus European royalty like AC Milan would have meant a stadium change to Lansdowne Road and a bumper crowd.

But in COVID-times, without fans and the need for a bigger stadium, the game was played at Rovers’ Tallaght Stadium with just the media watching on and a few very lucky ball boys from the academy teams.

One of the Milan superstars who caught their eye would have been Zlatan Ibrahimović, who returned to Milan for his second spell at the end of last year.

The Swede may be a little slower than when he first played there 10 years ago as he is about to turn 39 in less than 2 weeks’ time, but his football brain is still on another planet compared to most of those around him.

In the first half the Shamrock Rovers defenders did everything to keep him out of the game. But as Rovers man Gary O’Neill said after the match, “It was a stroll in the park for him there tonight. The back three were just saying about his strength and his size, his movement, his hold up play, everything, it is just two or three steps above what we’re used to”.

“Apparently he was a very nice fella as well,” joked Kerry native O’Neill.

“I think there is a bit of champagne football towards the end, in the last 20 mins, all the top players strolling around the place. It was always going to be an uphill battle. They’re a top side, we were just saying in the dressing room that you can really see the difference in levels of football. They are elite athletes. However I think we gave a good account of ourselves” added O’Neill.

It is all about the Irish league now for Shamrock Rovers who are currently five points clear at the top of the Irish league and have a great chance to win their first title in nine years.