A fired-up Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the AC Milan team bus' windscreen ahead of their vital 2-0 victory over Atalanta on Sunday.
The win puts the Rossoneri on the brink of a first league title in 11 years, as bitter rivals Inter Milan trail them by two points in the Serie A table with only one game remaining. While Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez were the stars of the San Siro show, Ibrahimovic made headlines pre-match as supporters welcomed the team bus to the stadium.
Enjoying the fanfare, the 40-year-old - who has been a leader since his return to the club in December 2019 - leapt to the front of the coach and began banging on the front window, leaving a visible crack and the driver furious. But it was a smashing day on the pitch for Stefano Pioli 's men, who head to Sassuolo next weekend knowing a draw is all they need to secure a first Scudetto since 2011.
Despite Inter boasting a much better goal difference, Milan's superior head-to-head record against Simone Inzaghi 's side would see them finish top. Inter did their job by winning 3-1 at Cagliari after Leao and Hernandez did the damage against Atalanta.
The latter's goal was a sensational effort, driving from his own penalty area all the way to the opposition's box, slaloming in and out of La Dea defenders. Hernandez then coolly tucked home past Juan Musso to finish off the stunning solo goal, as the French left-back sent San Siro wild.
It has been reported that Milan's players even stayed at their home ground in the hope of Inter dropping points soon after, but they were eventually sent home. Manager Pioli had a special piece of motivation for his team, as the Rossoneri boss explained.
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"I showed the boys an interview with Kobe Bryant in which he said that, despite being 2-0 ahead in an NBA play-off series, the work was not yet finished. And the same goes for us, we have done a lot, but not everything yet," Pioli told reporters post-match. "The first day I arrived I didn't think I could fight for the Scudetto one day, but there was a desire to work.
"At the beginning of the season I said that our goal was to overtake the 79 points last year: I knew that by improving that result, something else could happen. Having said that, we mustn’t make the mistake of thinking it's over, because Sassuolo have incredible attacking players."
