Ibrahimovic has raised Milan´s level – Pioli

Stefano Pioli said the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic has “raised the level of training” at Milan, who are unbeaten in three Serie A matches with the 38-year-old striker involved.

The Rossoneri on Sunday beat Udinese 3-2 in an entertaining encounter at San Siro, where an error by Gianluigi Donnarumma allowed the visitors to take the lead after six minutes through Jens Stryger Larsen.

Second-half strikes from Ante Rebic and Theo Hernandez turned the game on its head before Kevin Lasagna’s 85th-minute equaliser.

There was one final twist, though, as Rebic won it deep into stoppage time and Pioli revelled in a third successive victory, but warned Milan have plenty of room for improvement.

“I have to congratulate my players on their performance against the team that caused us a lot of problems,” the Milan boss told DAZN.

“We still have to work a lot, because today we showed our quality but there were also moments of relaxation where we exposed to rival blows.”

He added: “I asked my players that this week would be perfect and we succeeded, although it was hard.

“This should teach us that the match never ends. We will still work on efficiency.”

Ante Rebić’s first Rossonero brace and Theo’s stunner clinch the win against Udinese Read more https://t.co/eo7djPvp3V

La prima doppietta rossonera di Rebić e la magia di Theo decidono #MilanUdinese  Scopri di più https://t.co/iY1DYC4enn#SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/B2LleqOJ2y

— AC Milan (@acmilan) January 19, 2020

Ibrahimovic played the full 90 minutes and Pioli was full of praise for the veteran striker’s performance, as well as that of Rebic after he scored three minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute and struck again at the death.

“Ibra is an added value in our daily work,” Pioli said of Ibrahimovic. “He raised the level of training.

“Rebic has been hoping for more opportunities, he always trains well, and after Christmas he returned very determined and willing.

“Everyone who wants to help the team will be given chances.”