AC MILAN 3-0 PALERMO

AC Milan opened up an advantage on third-placed Juventus with a comfortable 3-0 win over 10-man Palermo at the San Siro.
A penalty from Kaka and a header from Filippo Inzaghi ensured Milan were already firmly in control before Cesare Bovo received his marching orders three minutes into the second half.
Kaka, who seemed back to his best after an injury-plagued few months, slotted home another penalty eight minutes later to seal the victory.
It was sweet revenge for Milan who were humiliated 3-1 at Palermo earlier in the year, and it leaves them two points above Juve who drew 2-2 at Reggina today.
Palermo barely had a sight of goal and remain three points behind sixth-place Roma who occupy the last Europa League berth.
Milan might have deserved the three points but Palermo will feel aggrieved at their 10th-minute opener as it seemed a harsh decision to award a penalty when Mattia Cassani caught Luca Ambrosini as he leapt up in an attempt to reach David Beckham's long ball.
Kaka stepped up to lash home a good penalty which squeezed in between Marco Amelia and his left post, leaving the Palermo goalkeeper no chance.
The hosts doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Kaka produced a great flick over the Palermo defence to Ambrosini who crossed in for Inzaghi to head home his 150th Serie A goal.
Palermo's best chance of the half came in the 32nd minute when a powerful Fabrizio Miccoli free-kick flew just wide from 35 yards.
The visitors also went close six minutes later but Milan goalkeeper Dida was well placed to save Giulio Migliaccio's close-range header.
A swift counter-attack was almost finished by Inzaghi who would have gone clear on goal but for a good tackle by Bovo.

However, the Palermo defender swiftly went from hero to villain after a rash tackle on Kaka earned him a second yellow card.
That did not bode well for the visitors with Milan boasting the best attacking record of the season so far and Palermo were forced to play even more defensively. Indeed, they had only three shots on goal - and all off target - for the rest of the match.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors in the 56th minute when Milan were awarded a second penalty when Federico Balzaretti held back Kaka in the area.
The Milan playmaker stepped up to the spot once again and fired a powerful shot straight down the middle.
The Rossoneri came close to increasing the scoreline on several occasions with the most notable being a lovely shot from Andrea Pirlo which flew just wide and an impressive effort from Ronaldinho which substitute goalkeeper Samir Ujkani did well to save.
Milan almost capped a good day with a spectacular goal four minutes from time when a clever one-two between Kaka and Ronaldinho resulted in the latter flicking the ball into the area to Gianluca Zambrotta who dribbled past three defenders before unleashing a shot but Ujkani pulled off another good save.


CEASARE MALDINI: "MILAN ARE MONITORING PALERMO'S YOUTH SIMON KJAER"


Palermo pay visit to AC Milan this afternoon and the Stadio San Siro crowd will have a chance to take a closer look at central defender Simon Kjaer, who has often been associated with a move to the Lombardy giants in recent weeks.
The 20-year-old has made quite an impact since arriving in Italy last summer and several top European sides are said to be keeping tabs on him.
Milan are also rumoured to be in the frame and Rossoneri scout and former Italy boss Cesare Maldini believes Kjaer has what it takes to cut the mustard at the highest level.
“He is an excellent defender,” Maldini enthused in an interview with Il Giornale di Sicilia.
“He is very strong and Milan are closely following him, just like they are following other players. Kjaer is dynamic, fast and elegant, but is also very aggressive and precise.
“He is a classic centre-back and I advise Palermo to keep hold of him for a long time.”

I WILL STAY IF MILAN ACCEPT MY WISHLIST

Carlo Ancelotti is ready to stay with AC Milan - if they're prepared to accept his shopping list.
While an offer from Chelsea remains on the table, Ancelotti has assured Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani he's prepared to stay next season if they make the right signings.
La Repubblica says in their summit last week, Ancelotti demanded three big money signings - a centre-forward, along with two defenders.
Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor tops the attacking shortlist, while Lille youngster Adi Rami is also regarded highly by Ancelotti.
A new 12-month contract extension is also being drawn up for Ancelotti, which would see him through to 2011.

Hell yeah,we still need Carletto at Milan and by making good buy it will not only benefited the club but the owner as well.Enough of the useless players we have at our disposal,now its time to look forward and buing the right players according to Carletto's planning.
Stop buy the old legs too,Maldini will retire and the one who should replace him is not another old player.
The time have come,Milanistas is waiting for a change.Big change.

MILAN 5(STARS)-1 TORINO

AC Milan leapt above Juventus into second place in Serie A thanks to an impressive 5-1 win over Torino.
Filippo Inzaghi was Milan's hero with a hat-trick, aided twice by the vision and skill of David Beckham.
Kaka added a fourth from the penalty spot in a one-sided game before Ivan Franceschini claimed a consolation goal 10 minutes from time.
But Massimo Ambrosini restored Milan's four-goal advantage with the last kick of the game as Carlo Ancelotti's side joined Juve on 64 points, 10 behind runaway leaders Inter Milan.
Beckham was back in the starting XI after sitting out Milan's last two Serie A matches and he made an immediate impact.
His free-kick was headed in by Inzaghi, but the goal was ruled out for a clear offside.
However, the same combination tore through the Torino defence with ease and regularity and there could be no doubt that Inzaghi's second goal, from a Beckham corner, was valid in the 13th minute.
Another accurate, long ball from Beckham again found Inzaghi, whose header this time lacked the required power to cause Matteo Sereni any problems in the Torino goal.
Kaka then turned provider for Inzaghi's next chance in the 28th minute, but again he could not get enough power on his shot, this time with his foot.

Moments later, Alexandre Pato got caught in two minds whether to shoot or play the ball square to Inzaghi after being found by Andrea Pirlo and the result was neither as his weak volley cleared the crossbar.
Inzaghi scored his second in the 37th minute with much of the credit again going to Beckham.
The England international could himself
have shot from 20 yards out and that is what the Torino defence expected, but he instead lifted the ball right onto the head of Inzaghi, who simply diverted it into the top corner of Sereni's goal.
Beckham had transformed a Milan side which had struggled to narrow wins over Lecce and Chievo in recent weeks.
There seemed to be no stopping the Rossoneri in this game and Inzaghi soon completed his hat-trick.

This time it was half-time substitute Ronaldinho who provided the assist for Milan's number nine, who netted his 11th goal of the season, his second hat-trick, by lifting the ball delicately over a forlorn, defenceless Sereni.
Inzaghi was given a standing ovation when he was replaced by Andriy Shevchenko in the 65th minute after making his telling contribution to help lift Milan up to second place.
But there was more to come even without Inzaghi.
Ambrosini earned a penalty when he was fouled by Sereni and Kaka converted the penalty in the 68th minute.
Franceschini then grabbed a consolation for Torino with practically their first chance of the evening in the 81st minute before Ambrosini capped another perfect team move with the finish to make it 5-1 and lift Milan above Juventus into second place.

ANOTHER ADEBAYOR RUMORS

Serie A giants AC Milan are set to reignite their interest in Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor by opening negotiations with the Premier League club, with Rossoneri owner Silvio Berlusconi ready to step in should the deal become complicated, according to the Daily Mail.
The Milanese club had tried to lure Togolese International Adebayor away from the Emirates Stadium last summer. It understood that the Gunners demanded £35million for the striker, which caused the interest to bring Adebayor to the San Siro to cool.
Barcelona had also been interested in 25-year-old Adebayor last summer, but also pulled out of the running after meeting with the striker, who is believed to have demanded huge personal terms to leave Arsenal for the Blaugrana.

Now it is said that Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is still keen on recruiting Adebayor to the San Siro, with an offer in the region of €35million being mooted. Ancelotti wants to pair Adebayor with young Brazilian Alexandre Pato and has Berlusconi onside to provide the financial clout if needed.
Under contract at the Emirates until the summer of 2012, having put pen to paper on a new deal at the Gunners last summer. Adebayor has scored 62 goals in 137 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions since his arrival from Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2006.
However, with Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani claiming recently that the Rossoneri would not be spending huge sums of money in the summer. It remains to be seen if Ancelotti, will land Adebayor, who is believed to have many fans within the San Siro.

SEEDORF'S STUNNER

Clarence Seedorf rounded off a glorious team goal to sink struggling Chievo 1-0 and strengthen AC Milan's bid for Champions League qualification.
The veteran Dutchman guided the ball past Stefano Sorrentino early in the second half after Marek Jankulovski and Filippo Inzaghi had both turned down shooting chances to set him up.
Milan did not have it all their own way, though, and boss Carlo Ancelotti had to watch most of the game from the stands after protesting too much over a first-half free-kick.
And he was forced to endure a nervous finish, Sergio Pellissier seeing what would have been an equaliser ruled out for offside and Dida brilliantly saving from Giuseppe Colucci.
Chievo started brightly and Philippe Senderos had to be alert to cut out Giampiero Pinzi's pass before it found Pellissier closing in on goal after just four minutes.
At the other end Inzaghi reacted quickest after Andrea Pirlo's free-kick deflected off the wall, but his header was off target.
Dida made his first crucial contribution to push Pinzi's header from Pellissier's cross over the bar before Ancelotti was sent from the touchline in the 37th minute.
He almost saw his side go ahead six minutes later when Sorrentino dropped Gianluca Zambrotta's cross amid a crowd of players, Santiago Morero hacking the ball away for a corner.
Milan were starting to find their rhythm and fine play from Kaka earned them a free-kick five minutes after the break.
Pirlo took the set-piece and forced an excellent low save from Sorrentino.
The Chievo goalkeeper was powerless to prevent a picture-book Milan opener in the 53rd minute, though.
Alexandre Pato raced down the left wing before passing to Jankulovski, who decided against shooting and passed to Inzaghi at the far post.
The evergreen frontman also opted not to pull the trigger, instead pulling the ball back to Seedorf on the edge of the area whose precise shot beat Sorrentino.
Chievo showed real spirit in their attempts to get back on level terms and Giuseppe Favalli had to clear hurriedly after Dida had spilt a Colucci shot.
Pellissier then found the net from a free-kick in the 66th minute, but the effort was disallowed as both Santiago Morero and Erjon Bogdani were in offside positions.
Andrea Mantovani kept Chievo in the contest when he cut out Kaka's cross, heading the ball narrowly over his own crossbar with Sorrentino nowhere.
And that intervention might have proved crucial were it not for a splendid late save from Dida.
Four minutes after Pellissier had fired a left-footed shot just over his crossbar, the Brazilian did superbly to deny Colucci after the Chievo man had found himself in space on the edge of the area.
But that chance with 12 minutes remaining was Chievo's last of the game as Milan closed out the win and strengthened their grip on third place.

LATE GOALS SAVES OUR BUTT

Two late goals broke Lecce hearts as AC Milan cemented their grip on third place in Serie A with a last-gasp 2-0 win at the San Siro.
Ronaldinho and Filippo Inzaghi scored in second-half stoppage time to move Milan to within five points of second-placed Juventus, who were held to a draw earlier in the day.
Lecce arguably had the better chances of a lacklustre contest which only came to life when the 90 minutes were up, but the visitors nevertheless left beaten and still mired in the bottom three.
David Beckham was named on the bench for the first time since joining Milan in January with Kaka returning to the starting XI.
Beckham sat alongside Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko on a star-studded bench but it was the latter pair who saw action as the England international stayed on the sidelines for the full 90 minutes.
Milan lacked creativity up front with Alexandre Pato and Inzaghi failing to spark.
There were even fewer chances at the other end as Lecce rarely managed to break free. The closest they came to scoring in the opening period was from Simone Tiribocchi's speculative volley after 10 minutes.
It was perhaps a sign of desperation that Pato tried his luck from fully 30 yards in the 34th minute, although the effort surprised Lecce goalkeeper Francesco Benussi who had to scurry across his line as the ball curled just inches wide.
Pato almost put the home side ahead with a determined run from deep late in the first half but he fired wide of the far post with only Benussi to beat.

Mathieu Flamini missed the first opportunity of the second half for Milan, coach Carlo Ancelotti rang the changes by brining on Ronaldinho for the ineffective Clarence Seedorf.
Ronaldinho was soon into the action and it was his crossfield ball to Gianluca Zambrotta which was the starting point for Milan's best chance of the half as the Italy full-back crossed for Pato who fluffed his lines from eight yards.
Gianni Munari forced Milan goalkeeper Dida into a good stop from a Tiziano Polenghi cross in the 62nd minute before Munari turned provider for Tiribocchi to head a glorious chance wide.
Benussi made a spectacular save to push a Ronaldinho free-kick away three minutes from time, but he could do little about the breakthrough goal from the Brazilian moments later.
Philippe Senderos was unlucky not to be the man celebrating the goal for Milan as his goal-bound header nicked off the head of Ronaldinho and into the net.
Just to rub salt into Lecce's wounds, Inzaghi added a second for the hosts moments later, heading in a cross from Shevchenko to seal the win.
Late winner no more than another doubtful performence from us and with Genoa is edging closer and closer,we should have put a more convinsing display.
A win is awin but the top three finished is a must and slipping out from the top three is an absolute embarassment and should not be allowed to happened.
http://acmilan-fanatic.blogspot.com

Straight talk with Daniele Massaro,The lowdown on A.C. Milan versus Inter, and the future of Italian soccer

Straight talk with Daniele Massaro
The lowdown on A.C. Milan versus Inter, and the future of Italian soccer


“Santon is the next Maldini and should be playing on the National team right away. Lippi should focus on youth, and try to improve the play of his squad, because it is unthinkable that they could win another World Cup playing the way they did in 2006.”
This is according to former Italian soccer player Daniele Massaro, who is now in charge of public relations for A.C. Milan and is a commentator on the Italian soccer TV program La giostra del gol. Massaro is currently in Canada for the inauguration of the Milan Sports Centre, and his visit was an opportunity for Corriere Canadese/Tandem to talk to him about the future of soccer in Italy, and about Italy’s famous rivals: A.C. Milan and Inter Milan.
When it comes to Inter, Mazzaro admits that, “barring any unforeseen circumstances, [A.C. Milan] will once again take home the scudetto this season.” He also admits to having a soft spot for Inter’s new star player Davide Santon, whose style of play reminds him of some of the greatest Italian soccer players ever, from Facchetti to Baresi, up to and including his A.C. Milan captain Paolo Maldini.

Let’s begin with the Italian league. The big teams are out of the Champions League. Is it true that Italian soccer is on the decline?
“Our [league] is going through a unique period. Although many stars have played in Serie A, we’re not currently playing the role of protagonist in Europe. In Italy in the past few years, we’ve been sort of sitting back to watch Inter – a superpower on paper and sometimes on the pitch – in their conquests of the scudetto. They are a team that depend a lot on the feats of their striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.”
What can Italian soccer do in order to win on international pitches?
“The only solution is to win. When I played, we often faced teams with superior skills. Now, apart from the odd young player who’s at the top of his game, we don’t have a great amount of quality. The problems are due to various reasons but a contributing factor has been that many stars have gone to Spain or England rather than to Italy. The job of team directors will now have to be to acquire players who can make a difference, while taking into account the bottom line. It’s sort of what Milan did with Pato a few years ago.”In an interview last year, you said that Inter made the best acquisition when they brought on Jose Mourinho as manager. Do you still hold the same opinion after his negative comments about the team?
“In some regards, yes, because having a specific plan and discipline has benefited this team. It should also be mentioned that people change, and he has changed a lot. But it’s not just his fault. The media has created the persona, and he has allowed himself to exaggerate and say strong words about Italian soccer and about some of our important personnel.”
In terms of players, who has impressed you most?
“I’ve seen many good players, from the rebirth of Pazzini to Motta, from the bursting onto the scene of Santon - who I think will have a career like Facchetti, Baresi, and like Maldini. I see 20 years of stardom for him because he has the right attitude, the humility, and he realizes he has been given a great opportunity.”
Does it anger you that Maldini’s heir plays for Inter?
“He’s a good player – a valid outside back who so far has displayed talent and good offensive skills. And he’s improving greatly on defense as well. I’ve seen him face very strong opposition without any hesitation, and he has always moved well. Seeing someone like that playing for Inter isn’t pleasing, but [A.C. Milan] also have a strong 19-year-old destined to become one of the top players in the world: Pato.”
What about Balotelli? He’s a huge talent, but do you think he’s still too immature, character-wise, to prove himself at the top levels?
“Everyone gets his or her chances. I think Balotelli has understood that having skills doesn’t mean one is a superstar. To become a determining player, one must be a star both on and off the pitch. For now, he has displayed some good skills, but to prove himself, he has to get produce some good results and leave aside some of that behaviour that his coach is very familiar with.”
And what can you tell us about Milan? It’s been a strange – and very unlucky – season“It has certainly not been the best season of the Berlusconi era. The minimum objective now is to finish third and qualify for the Champions League. Then we’ll decide about the future. The team needs to be rebuilt, and there will surely be changes and some important acquisitions.”
For defense, you acquired Thiago Silva. Is that enough, considering Nesta’s recurring injuries?
“I’d say no, given that next season we’ll be playing more games and we will need a larger roster. Let’s not forget that just this year, we’ve been decimated by injuries. And in the long run, not having our best players has taken its toll.”
Will the future continue to be with Carlo Ancelotti?
“I think so. He still has a year left on his contract with Milan and I think it’s right to stay with him.”
Let’s talk about the national team. You were very young when you debuted with the blue jersey. If you were Lippi, would you take a chance on the youth?
“There are young players who made an appearance and then disappeared. There are others, though, who deserve to play even now. Santon, for example, has been playing well for some time now and is a sure thing. I would include him on the Azzurri roster.”
And what do you think of Cassano?
“Each time players are summoned to the national team, the talk is about who isn’t there – about Amauri, about Cassano, and even Santon. I think that Lippi considers the young Inter defenseman one of the best potentials and is keeping an eye on him for the next World Cup. Over the next few months, Lippi will have time to experiment and test the quality and consistency of players such as Motta who until a few months ago, was a sub on Udinese. Santon has more experience and is not a gamble but a guarantee.”
Can this national team aspire to great achievements, or will it suffer the way our club teams have?
“They certainly cannot hope to regain a World Cup playing the way they did the last one. They will have to play better, considering that the other national teams are improving. We can’t hope to win again, thanks to luck and a good style of play that in 2006 was only evident in flashes, unfortunately.”