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.