ROME: Seven minutes.

That’s all that Zlatan Ibrahimovic required after four months out for a left knee injury including surgery before he scored in his first match back on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic came off the bench on the hour mark then quickly redirected a cross from Ante Rebic from close range for AC Milan’s second goal in a 2-0 victory over Lazio.

The win extended Milan’s perfect start and moved the Rossoneri level with AS Roma and Napoli atop the Serie A standings through three rounds.

Stephan El Shaarawy’s stunning stoppage-time strike which handed Jose Mourinho’s Roma a 2-1 win over Sassuolo while defending champions Inter Milan dropped their first points in a 2-2 draw at Sampdoria. Napoli beat Juventus on Saturday.

Ibrahimovic, who turns 40 next month, missed a chance to play for Sweden at the European Championship when he was injured in May during a win over Juventus.

The goal meant that Ibrahimovic has now scored in 24 different league seasons.

“I’m happy that he came back well,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli said. “He entered the game well. Beyond the obvious talent, it’s the passion and fire he has inside that keeps him going. Seeing the way he trains is a pleasure. His goal is to be the best and that hasn’t changed as the years go by.”

Rafael Leao opened the scoring for Milan just before the break following a give-and-take with Rebic.

Franck Kessie missed a penalty for Milan in first-half added time when he banged his attempt off the crossbar.

Lazio, who won their opening two games, dropped three points back.

Mourinho marked the 1,000th game of his coaching career by running the length of the field to celebrate El Shaarawy’s late winner.

A thrilling match looked to be heading for a draw after Bryan Cristante’s 37th-minute opener was cancelled out by Filip Djuricic just before the hour mark and both sides wasted a raft of chances.

Each hit the post in an end-to-end contest but it was Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio who had to be at his best to stop gilt-edged opportunities presented to Domenico Berardi and Jeremie Boga as Sassuolo pushed for a win.

However with the seconds ticking away El Shaarawy crashed in his shot off the post to put Roma top.

“During the week, I lied to myself, telling everyone this was not a special game. I was trying to convince myself it was not special. It was a special match,” Mourinho said. “It was a match with a special number for me, which I will remember until the last day of my life.

“I didn’t feel 58 today. I felt 10, 12 or 14 years old — the age when you start to dream of a career in football. It was the run of a child.”

In Sunday’s early match Inter’s perfect start to their defence of the Serie A title ended after a draw with a spirited Sampdoria side in Genoa following two wins in their opening two fixtures of the campaign.

Federico Dimarco and Lautaro Martinez twice put Simone Inzaghi’s side ahead at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris but strikes from Maya Yoshida and Tommaso Augello earned a draw for Roberto D’Aversa’s Sampdoria, who sit 15th with two points.

Torino made light work of promoted Salernitana, running out 4-0 winners, while Genoa came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Cagliari.

Elsewhere, an 89th-minute goal from Lazar Samardi earned Udinese a 1-0 win at Spezia to extend the Friuli club’s unbeaten start.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2021