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          Ronaldo vs. Ibrahimovic: Juventus star shows off new haircut, but Milan striker wins what could be their last battle

          • Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerJul 8, 2020, 01:29 PM

          The Italian top flight was graced by a real humdinger of a match on Tuesday as AC Milan beat Juventus 4-2 in an enthralling tussle at the San Siro (stream the replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.).

          All the goals came in an action-packed second half that saw Juve score twice in quick succession after the restart, only for Milan to come romping back with four goals in the space of 20 minutes.

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          Despite these being two of the most decorated sides in Italian football, it was the first time Milan have ever come back from more than one goal down to beat Juve in any competition in the club's entire 120-year history.

          The stellar clash also played host to the latest, and quite possibly last, meeting between two giants of the modern era in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.

          Both veteran superstars played their respective parts as Ronaldo found the net with a calm breakaway finish to put Juve two goals ahead, only for an Ibrahimovic penalty to spark Milan's amazing comeback shortly thereafter.

          While he ended up on the losing side on the night, Ronaldo also notched his 30th goal of the season -- the 10th time he's done so in his past 11 seasons (2018-19 being the only campaign in which he fell short).

          It should perhaps also be noted that the Portuguese forward also debuted yet another new hairstyle, finally trading the dodgy lockdown topknot in for something a little more debonair -- just the latest in a long, long, long line of signature looks.

          We were also treated to some typically humble postmatch quotes from Ibrahimovic after the Swedish star once again delivered under pressure to alter the course of the match in the Rossoneri's favour. All with a little help from his "best friend," of course.

          Having notched from the spot, Ibrahimovic was subbed off for the final half an hour of the game but was still seen bellowing instructions to his teammates from the bench.

          "I am president, player and coach [of Milan]!" the 38-year-old, who arrived in January after his 18-month stint with LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer, bragged postmatch after being asked about his involvement in the remarkable encounter.

          "The only negative is that I only get paid for being a player! If I had been here from the first day of the season, then we would've won the Scudetto."

          We think he's joking, but as always it's incredibly difficult to tell.

          Ibrahimovic's haughty quotes didn't go down well with one former MLS rival, as DC United midfielder Felipe Martins didn't hide his lingering antipathy toward his erstwhile opponent.

          With Ibra and Ronaldo now at a combined age of 73 (with an astonishing 1,272 career goals between them) and the former's contract at Milan not set to extend beyond this season, it's unlikely the two will come face-to-face on the field many more times -- if at all.

          Over the years, the pair have come up against each other 13 times, with Ronaldo overall getting the better of his great rival on the domestic, European and international stages.

          2003-04: Portugal 2-2 Sweden (international friendly)
          2008-09: Inter Milan 0-0 Manchester United, Manchester United 2-0 Inter Milan (Champions League round of 16); Sweden 0-0 Portugal (World Cup qualifier)
          2009-10: Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)
          2010-11: Real Madrid 2-0 AC Milan, AC Milan 2-2 Real Madrid (Champions League group stage)
          2013-14: Portugal 1-0 Sweden, Sweden 2-3 Portugal (World Cup qualification playoff)
          2015-16: Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain (Champions League group stage)
          2019-20: AC Milan 1-1 Juventus (Coppa Italia semifinal first leg); AC Milan 4-2 Juventus (Serie A)

          Of the 13 meetings, Ronaldo has been on the winning side five times to Ibra's two, with six games ending in draws.

          Ronaldo has scored eight goals across their clashes for club and country, including an inspirational hat trick for Portugal against Ibra's Sweden in the second leg of a 2014 World Cup qualifying playoff.

          For the record, Ibra has scored four times -- the most notable probably being his brilliant volleyed winner for Barcelona against Ronaldo's Real Madrid in a Clasico in 2009-10.

          If Tuesday's six-goal thriller is to be the final dance between two of the game's modern greats, then what a way for them to close out the rivalry.