At 34, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) still finds a way to grow – Eurosport.fr

         He too heard this refrain. This catchphrase pursuing him since he has settled at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Wednesday at Stamford Bridge, Zlatan Ibrahimovic took that old disk and threw it in the garbage. There is no one to tell him that the great European events are not his. If France still has a representative in the European Cup, it is the Swedish it should.
       

         It was against Chelsea, so it is even more resounding. Because his expulsion a year ago on the same pitch, the same opponent, was still considerably shaken his status. Paris had played 90 minutes without him, and Paris had signed his finest European achievement of the QSI era without him. He, the figurehead of the PSG.
       

         He is more than ever today. At Stamford Bridge, Ibrahimovic, scorer and passer, brought PSG on his shoulders where he had to take: towards a fourth quarter-final of consecutive Champions League. Perhaps it would be reductive to his teammates. That would be as much to limit the performance of Ibra in these two decisive gestures, as he was the technical leader and morale of his team throughout that game in London.
       

         It means a lot. Because the work of Ibrahimovic is not limited to this meeting. The Parisian striker had already been decisive on the way by opening the scoring. He was directly involved in three of the four goals that tipped the tie in favor of PSG. There is a continuity in the performance of the old Milanese, on a European stage where it was mostly about him from his inconstancy.
       

         So far, this is the perfect culmination of a successful season. And the word is weak. If PSG can be crowned champion of France before the end of winter, it is also largely to his Swedish center-forward, top scorer (23 goals) and co-leading passer Ligue 1 (10 assists) . Paris was not often endangered in the league. And when he was, he could count on Ibra. Marseille can attest.
       

         This exceptional season now also reflected at European level. And it is all the more remarkable for a player of 34 years. Where the vast majority of the players reaches the twilight of his career, Ibrahimovic, he still manages to push the limits to progress. For some, like the president Nasser al-Khelaifi, the explanation is not rational:
       

         
            “It’s magic. It’s a fantastic player. Every game he is getting better”
         
       

         For others, it is. And few people are as well placed as Thiago Silva, Ibrahimovic in Milan teammate before accompanying PSG, to know how the phenomenal season the Swede is not by chance:
       

         
            “He always wants to win. Even if we make a little game the day before a game, he wants to win. That’s what’s most important is to Zlatan.”
         
       

         In London, Ibrahimovic had the will to win is in his blood. This was far from the first time. But this is beyond the Swedish talent, which allowed him to push the limit. The failure that stuck him too often in the skin in major European events. This refrain one is outdated now.