Luka Modric joins exclusive 40 club with milestone goal in Milan win

MILAN (AP) — Luka Modric scored days after his 40th birthday to join an exclusive club and give AC Milan a 1-0 win over Bologna in Serie A on Sunday.

Modric, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, became the sixth player to score in the Italian league after turning 40, including most recently Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Fabio Quagliarella.

“I hope someone next time will not remind me of my age anymore," Modric said with a laugh.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri was sent off late on — in his third league match back in charge of Milan — for dissent after a penalty awarded to the Rossoneri was revoked on video review.

In familiar scenes from his time at Juventus, Allegri angrily threw off his jacket and also sarcastically shouted “Bravo” at the officials as he was escorted away.

"At that moment I had some things to say to the fourth official, fortunately the jacket saved me,” said Allegri, who also heaped praise on Modric.

“Luka is an extraordinary player and it’s a pleasure to watch him, but he is also a really humble guy, and that’s a demonstration of what a great champion he is. He knows a minute before where the ball will go, and he has such extraordinary technique.”

Pervis Estupinan hit the post for Milan in the first half but Allegri's team struggled to break Bologna down until the 61st minute.

Modric started the move midway inside his own half, finding Ruben Loftus-Cheek to go forward and spread the ball for Alexis Saelemaekers. The Belgium international cut inside and rolled it across for the onrushing Modric to drive into the back of the net from just inside the area.

Samuele Ricci, who had just come off the bench, saw an effort come off the post and Milan hit the woodwork for a third time in the match through Santiago Giménez.

The match also saw Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe face each other following a locker room bust-up that forced them both out of Marseille last month. Rabiot started the match for Milan, while Rowe came on in the second half for Bologna.

Argentinian forward Giovanni Simeone scored his first Serie A goal in more than a year to help Torino to a surprise 1-0 win at Roma.

It was Torino’s first win of the season under new coach Marco Baroni and Roma’s first loss after two 1-0 victories in Gian Piero Gasperini’s first two matches in charge.

Simeone — the son of Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone — joined Torino from Italian champion Napoli last month. And he opened his account in stunning fashion in the 59th minute, starting and finishing the move.

The 30-year-old got past his marker to spark a counter and then played a one-two with Cyril Ngonge, getting on the return pass to curl a magnificent strike into the top-right corner.

Simeone last scored in the Italian league in August 2024.

Nicola Zalewski grabbed a goal and an assist and also hit the crossbar to help Atalanta crush Lecce 4-1 for its first win since Ivan Juric replaced Gasperini.

Giorgio Scalvini headed in Zalewski's corner shortly before halftime for the opener.

The Poland wing back scored his first goal for the club in the 70th, cutting inside between two defenders and drilling into the bottom left corner.

That came either side of a brace from Charles Ketelaer and after Zalewski had seen a free kick crash off the bar early in the second half.

Konan N’Dri netted a late consolation for Lecce.

Atalanta had opened the season with two draws.

Sassuolo got its first points of the season by beating Lazio 1-0.

Udinese remained unbeaten with a 1-0 win at newly promoted Pisa.

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AC Milan's head coach Massimiliano Allegri argues with assistant referee after he was shown a red card during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Bologna at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Luka Modric scores his side's opening goal from a penalty kick during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Bologna at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan's Luka Modric celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Bologna at San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Atalanta's Giorgio Scalvini celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Lecce at the New Balance Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Atalanta's players celebrate after Giorgio Scalvini scored his side's opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Atalanta and Lecce at the New Balance Stadium in Bergamo, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Torino's Giovanni Simeone, not pictured, scores their side's opening goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and Torino FC at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Sunday Sept. 14, 2025. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

Torino's Giovanni Simeone, centre, celebrates after scoring their side's opening goal of the game during the Serie A soccer match between AS Roma and Torino FC at the Rome's Olympic stadium, Italy, Sunday Sept. 14, 2025. (Fabrizio Corradetti/LaPresse via AP)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, an outcome that comes nearly a decade after boisterous protests against the project on the North Dakota prairie.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant the key easement means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater, among others. The announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely.

The $3.8 billion, multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017 from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a terminal in Illinois. The line carries about 4% of U.S. daily oil production, or roughly 540,000 barrels per day,

The Corps is “decisively putting years of delays to rest and moving out to safely execute this crossing beneath Lake Oahe," Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle said in a statement.

The pipeline crosses the river upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation, which straddles the Dakotas. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline, fearing a spill and contamination of its water supply. In 2016 and 2017, thousands of people camped and protested for months near the river crossing.

The protests resulted in hundreds of arrests and related criminal cases and lawsuits, some of them still ongoing, including litigation that threatens the future of the environmental group Greenpeace.

In December, the Corps released its final environmental impact statement nearly six years after a federal judge ordered a more rigorous review of the pipeline's crossing. In that document, the Corps endorsed the option to grant the easement for the crossing and keep the pipeline operating with modifications.

Those measures include enhanced leak detection and monitoring systems, expanded groundwater and surface water monitoring and third-party expert evaluation of the leak and detection systems, among others, the Corps said. The conditions also include water supply contingency planning and other studies coordinated with affected tribes.

The Corps had weighed several options, including removing or abandoning the pipeline's river crossing or even rerouting it north. The agency said its decision “best balances public safety, protection of environmental resources, and leak detection and response considerations while meeting the project’s purpose and need.”

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer hailed the decision, saying the pipeline has been safely operating for nearly 10 years and is critical to the country’s energy infrastructure.

“We want to thank the Corps for the tremendous amount of time and effort put in by so many to bring this matter to a thoughtful close,” said Vicki Granado, a company spokesperson.

The Associated Press sent text messages and emails to media representatives for the tribe and left a voicemail at the tribe's headquarters. They didn't immediately respond Thursday.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Interior Secretary and former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and U.S. Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer each welcomed the decision to ensure the pipeline continues operating.

The Corps' announcement came as officials and oil industry leaders were gathered for a trade conference in Bismarck.

Energy Transfer and Enbridge are in early stages of a project to move about 250,000 daily barrels of light Canadian crude oil through the Dakota Access Pipeline by using another pipeline and building a 56-mile connecting line, spokespersons for the companies said. Enbridge will decide sometime in mid-2026 whether to move ahead.

FILE - A sign for the Dakota Access Pipeline is seen north of Cannonball, N.D. and the Standing Rock Reservation on May 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)