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off late on — in his third league match back in charge of Milan — for dissent after a penalty awarded to the Rossoneri was revoked on video review.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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)