Zlatan Ibrahimovic back celebrating as Milan crush Lazio - in pictures

The Swedish legend was on target in huge victory in Serie A title race

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates with teammate Giacomo Bonaventura after scoring Milan's second goal from the penalty spot in their 3-0 Serie A victory over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, July 4. Reuters

AC Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu, top, celebrates with his teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic after scoring his side's opening goal at Lazio. AP

AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, left, celebrates with his teammate Giacomo Bonaventura. AP

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores his penalty. Reuters

Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates with his teammates. EPA

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores Milan's second. AP

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was making his first AC Milan appearance since the end of lockdown. Getty

Zlatan celebrates. Reuters

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, starting his first match since the coronavirus stoppage, scored a penalty to help AC Milan to an emphatic 3-0 win at Lazio and damage their hopes of winning Serie A.

Lazio, missing leading scorer in Italy Ciro Immobile through suspension, fell seven points behind leaders Juventus with eight games to play after slumping to their first home defeat in the league this season.

The hosts were a long way from the fluent and confident side which enjoyed a 21-match unbeaten league run from September until their season was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic in March.

The effort of having to come behind to win their last two games 2-1 seemed to take its toll and the confidence drained out of them after Milan went ahead. The visitors, unbeaten since the season restart, climbed to sixth.

Lazio's other main striker, Felipe Caicedo, was also suspended although midfielder Lucas Leiva returned for the first time since a knee operation in April.

"It's a heavy loss in terms of the standings," said Lazio coach Simone Inzaghi. "We weren't lucky in the key moments: in the first half, we conceded a goal from a deflected shot and another from a penalty.

"When we could have got back into it, we conceded the third goal which finished the game. But we won't give up."

The hosts could have gone in front early on when Jony fired a low ball across the face of the goal but two Lazio players failed to make contact.

Instead, Milan scored from their first real attack in the 23rd minute as Hakan Calhanoglu's shot took a deflection off Patric and looped over stranded Thomas Strakosha.

Ibrahimovic had a goal chalked off for offside but there was no reprieve two minutes later when Lazio defender Stefan Radu conceded a penalty for handball.

The 38-year-old Swede stepped up and, although Strakosha got a hand to it, the ball rebounded off his foot and into the net.

Lazio were wide open at the back and left Ante Rebic completely free to slot the ball past Strakosha in the 59th minute.