Player Ratings: Torino 0-1 Milan

Carlo Garganese rates the players on show at the Stadio Olimpico this afternoon.

Kalac – 6.0: Did not have too many saves to make all game, but was largely reliable when called upon.

Oddo - 7: Oddo has been one of Milan’s most impressive players in recent weeks, and he was again up-and-down the right like a train this afternoon.

Nesta – 6.5: Sound performance from Nesta, who was a calming influence at the back.

Kaladze - 7.0: A few nervy moments, but he made one simply brilliant tackle to deny Rosina at the beginning of the second half.

Maldini – 7.5: Yet again defied his years with a wonderful performance. He was granted a standing ovation when he was replaced on 80 minutes.

Gattuso - 5: Gattuso is clearly on a downward spiral. He just does not have the energy he used to have. Time for Roberto Donadoni to axe him from the Italy starting XI.

Ambrosini – 6: Battled well in midfield, without really showing too much quality. An average game but nothing more.

Pirlo – 6: Pirlo had his spells during the match, but he still is struggling. Looks mentally tired, as well as physically.

Seedorf – 8: Linked the play between midfield and attack, and with a bit of luck could have had a hat-trick. Hit the crossbar, was twice denied by Fontana, and also helped set-up the winner.

Pato – 8: Given time this player is going to be one of, if not, the best forward in the world. Still needs to mature, but his potential is frightening. Unstoppable at times today, and scored the crucial goal.

Gilardino - 7: I feel so happy to be able to give Gilardino a positive mark. Struggled in the first half, but was pivotal after the break, created Pato’s goal, and was also denied himself by a great Fontana save.

Ancelotti 'frees' Gilardino

Carlo Ancelotti realises it was “an important victory” and admits Alberto Gilardino could request a transfer.

“I liked the way Milan played today and we slowly got into the game,” said Ancelotti after a 1-0 win at Torino ended their run of two straight defeats.

“It was an important match and an equally important victory. We struggled to break the deadlock and had several chances with Gilardino, Alexandre Pato and Clarence Seedorf.

“We had to win today at all costs. We must focus on our own path but also those in front of us, as Fiorentina also won.”

The gap from the Viola in fourth place remains four points, so their hopes of a Champions League place are still timidly alive.

Gilardino was particularly wasteful, although he did set up the winning goal for Pato.

“He had an excellent game and held up the ball when it reached him, but was not sharp in his finishing. He did very well in the goal. Will he be sold? If it’s up to us then we are keeping him for next season, but what counts are his wishes.”

AC Milan use Gilardino bait to land Roma's Mexes

tribalfooball.com - March 28, 2008

AC Milan are reviving their interest in Roma defender Philippe Mexes.

Gazzetta dello Sport says Milan chiefs are willing to offer Alberto Gilardino in part-exchange for the France international.

Gilardino's agent admitted yesterday the striker would welcome a move to Roma in the summer.

MILAN-ATALANTA

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Kalac;

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Favalli, Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta, Oddo, Simic;

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Pirlo, Seedorf;

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Paloschi, Pato.

AC Milan 1:2 Atalanta - match report

Scorers: Floccari 32 (A), Langella 42 (A), Maldini 84 (M)

Andrea Pirlo's last-gasp penalty was saved as another disastrous Milan home performance further dampened their Champions League hopes.

The Rossoneri lost to local rivals Atalanta in January's rescheduled game and were desperate to avoid a similar outcome with the Champions League spots four points away going into this weekend. Kaka, Ronaldo, Pippo Inzaghi, Marcos Cafu, Emerson, Marek Jankulovski and Serginho were in a packed treatment room, while Moris Carrozzieri and Coach Gigi Del Neri sat out bans for the visitors. Atalanta's last Serie A victory here was a 1-0 result on March 17, 1991.

Gennaro Gattuso scored against Atalanta in January and almost did it again after eight minutes, but he blasted a poor clearance over the bar from the D.

Alberto Gilardino nodded over when Massimo Ambrosini was in a better position behind him, then Gattuso flicked on an Alexandre Pato cross a little too long for Clarence Seedorf to go clear on goal.

Gilardino had not scored at San Siro in nearly a year and chested down the ball to test Fernando Coppola at the near post.

Instead, Atalanta took the lead with their first real chance. Ferreira Pinto got away down the right and rolled across for the unmarked Sergio Floccari to come sliding in. Zeljko Kalac got a touch to the first effort, but could do nothing on the second as the Milan defence was caught ball-watching. Massimo Oddo claimed he had been fouled in the lead-up, but the linesman and referee waved play on.

Thomas Manfredini replaced the injured Leo Talamonti, but the San Siro crowd was jeering a dreadful Rossoneri performance. Andrea Pirlo tested Coppola with a free kick, but they had precious little to offer.

In an almost identical move to the one Sampdoria scored in their 2-1 win here a fortnight ago, Atalanta struck again on the counter. Floccari drew three defenders and passed for Antonio Langella to beat an Oddo challenge and fire past Kalac at the near post!

It should have been 0-3 in stoppages, but Ferreira Pinto ballooned over totally unmarked from Langella's cross. Carlo Ancelotti made two changes with Alberto Paloschi and Kakha Kaladze coming on.

Seedorf was already celebrating an equaliser after the restart when Coppola palmed Paloschi's shot into his path, but the Dutchman was flagged offside. However, replays suggest Langella was keeping Seedorf in play.

Soon after Coppola parried a Gattuso effort and Pato passed straight to the goalkeeper from Paloschi's headed assist. Milan looked like a different team and were pouring forward in waves, but this left space for the counter-attack and Cristiano Doni incredibly fired over when totally clear on goal from nine yards on Ferreira Pinto's assist.

Paolo Maldini had to clear from six yards when Langella was allowed all the space and time he wanted to go on the counter, while Kalac was at full stretch to deny another shot from the former Cagliari winger.

Pato scuffed a volley and Seedorf's shot was deflected out for a corner. Massimo Ambrosini thought he had got them back into it on 77 minutes with a header from a corner kick, but it was disallowed for a push on goalkeeper Coppola. Ambrosini was also booked for dissent.

Soon after Ambrosini nodded over the bar, but the goal came with six minutes to go. It was an unusual scorer, as Maldini got a free header from eight yards on a corner that squirmed through Coppola's hands at the near post.

Yet Simone Inzaghi went on the counter and brought a difficult save out of Kalac. It was a chaotic finale, as Alessandro Nesta was sent off for dissent and moments later Ambrosini was brought down by a Guarente sliding tackle. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation and Pirlo stepped up, but his penalty was well saved by Coppola!

Milan: Kalac; Oddo (Brocchi 59), Nesta, Maldini, Favalli (Kaladze 46); Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Seedorf; Pato, Gilardino (Paloschi 46)

Atalanta: Coppola; Rivalta, Pellegrino, Talamonti (Manfredini 33), Bellini; Ferreira Pinto, Tissone, Guarente, Langella (Padoin 69); Doni; Floccari (S Inzaghi 82)

Ref: Brighi

Sent off: Nesta 87 (M)

Missed penalty: Pirlo 89 (M)

Player Ratings: Milan 1-2 Atalanta

Milan suffered yet another home defeat as their Serie A season goes from bad to worse. Atalanta took the honours at San Siro with a 2-1 win. Goal.com's Salvatore Bianchi rates the players' performances.

Kalac 7 – Milan can be thankful to the Aussie that they didn’t concede more than two.

Oddo 5 – Poor game, the lowlight of which was the ease in which Langella skipped past him for the second goal.

Maldini 6.5 – The best of the back four and Milan looked better at left-back once he switched there in the second half.

Nesta 6 – Started very well, making some great interceptions, but played his part in the two goals and was foolishly sent off late on

Favalli 4.5 – Really bad. It’s no surprise he was hauled off at half-time. Majorly at fault for the first goal.

Gattuso 6 – Showed his class on occasion but it was all too rare.

Pirlo 5 – What’s happened to Pirlo of late? He was that poor in this game that the penalty miss wasn’t even a shock.

Ambrosini 7 – The only Milan midfielder who really looked to have any fight in him.

Seedorf 5.5 – Really didn’t feature enough and it showed in Milan’s lack of creativity.

Pato 6 – His pace was always a threat, his movement and play dropping deep was generally good, but he forgot his shooting boots.

Gilardino 5 – Another poor display and surely another nail in the coffin of his AC Milan career

Subs

46mins Paloschi 6.5 – Looked extremely bright immediately after coming on but his influence then subsided. Still, a vast improvement on Gilardino.

46mins Kaladze 5 – Milan didn’t concede after he came on but the Georgian hardly looked sturdy at the back, lunging in early and getting beaten several times.

59mins Brocchi 5.5 – Didn’t really have the desired impact on the game.

JUVENTUS - MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac,

DEFENDERS: Bonera, Cafu, Digao, Favalli, Maldini, Serginho, Simic,

MIDFIELDERS: Ambrosini, Brocchi, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Kakà, Pirlo, Seedorf,

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Inzaghi, Paloschi

Juventus 3:2 AC Milan - match report

Scorers: Del Piero 12 (J), Inzaghi 14, 31 (M), Salihamidzic 45, 80 (J)

Juventus fought back to defeat Milan 3-2 with Hasan Salihamidzic's brace, but Daniele Bonera's red card for a horror tackle proved decisive.

These two clubs dominated Serie A for two decades and it remained a battle of pride as well as a key game. The Bianconeri needed a victory to make up for last week's 3-2 loss at Palermo, while the Rossoneri knew only a win would keep their Champions League hopes intact. Carlo Ancelotti had to completely revolutionise his defence as Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze were banned, while Marek Jankulovski, Massimo Oddo, Ronaldo and Alexandre Pato had injuries. Pavel Nedved was suspended and Cristiano Zanetti sidelined.

Juve last won this fixture in November 2002 and curiously, Milan had not shared the spoils on their travels since a 1-1 at Catania on February 27, the same weekend as Juve’s last home draw in the goalless Turin derby.

Alessandro Del Piero flashed an angled drive off target, but he opened the scoring on 12 minutes. Mauro Camoranesi beat Giuseppe Favalli and threaded through for Del Piero's right-foot angled drive that trickled past Zeljko Kalac's outstretched leg and into the far corner of the net.

Moments later Inzaghi nearly equalised, as he sprung the offside trap on Favalli's cross and hit the side-netting.

Once again, it was a warning not heeded, as 60 seconds later Super Pippo drew level. Kaka held off Giorgio Chiellini down the left channel and rolled across for Inzaghi to tap in from six yards. This was his first goal against Juve in Turin.

Chiellini nodded a corner over the bar and Zdenek Grygera curled off target, while Buffon smothered a Kaka effort that bounced just in front of him.

Del Piero wasted a great counter-attack when he tried to dribble a little too long and was crowded out by Rossoneri shirts. Clarence Seedorf's wayward cross turned into a very dangerous lob that Buffon tipped on to the crossbar!

The resulting corner was not cleared effectively and allowed Milan to go 2-1 up. Daniele Bonera sprung the offside trap and smartly rolled across to Inzaghi, who was behind the line of the ball for a tap-in from eight yards. Before last week Inzaghi had scored just one Serie A goal all season, but this was his fourth in two games.

The Rossoneri had another wonderful scoring opportunity with Kaka's cracking right-foot volley spilled by Buffon and the World Cup winning goalkeeper just about scrambled the loose ball off the feet of Inzaghi.

However, Juventus made it 2-2 on the stroke of half-time. Del Piero dispossessed Paolo Maldini with a sneaky tackle and Camoranesi chopped a cross for David Trezeguet's header, which Kalac parried into the path of Hasan Salihamidzic.

The drama still wasn't over, as 30 seconds later Gennaro Gattuso's lob forced Buffon into a fingertip save.

After the restart Dario Simic slipped and was still able to intercept Del Piero's pass for Trezeguet. Nicola Legrottaglie limped off with a sprained knee and made way for Guglielmo Stendardo.

Grygera almost scored the goal of the season as he unleashed an extraordinary right-foot rocket from 34 metres that Kalac had to fingertip round the post.

Maldini's sliding tackle dispossessed Camoranesi at the byeline after he had overcome Simic. Bonera needed a glancing header to tip Sissoko's cross off the head of Stendardo from six yards, doing just enough to put the Juve defender off.

There was controversy on 66 minutes. Seedorf was furious that Camoranesi did not receive a booking for a stamp, but as soon as play resumed Bonera received a straight red card for a horrible studs-up challenge right on Sissoko's shin. It really was a leg-breaker tackle that risked serious injury to the former Liverpool midfielder. Fortunately, Sissoko was able to continue after several minutes of treatment.

Carlo Ancelotti had to balance out the side and threw on Marcos Cafu for Inzaghi. It seemed to work, as the Brazilian veteran was brought down by Camoranesi on the right channel for a poor Andrea Pirlo free kick.

Trezeguet made way for Vincenzo Iaquinta, so Ranieri did not risk the trident even against 10 men. Maldini charged down a Grygera counter, but there was further controversy 10 minutes from time. Maldini was very harshly penalised for a shoulder against shoulder challenge with Grygera and from that Camoranesi free kick Salihamidzic was allowed a totally free header.

Milan poured forward looking for the equaliser and this left space at the back for Del Piero to flash a counter off target, while Alberto Gilardino replaced Gattuso.

Buffon smothered a Cafu snapshot and Massimo Ambrosini moved up the field as a striker, but at the other end Del Piero's volley hit Kalac's outstretched foot in a one-on-one situation. Seedorf earned a free kick five minutes into stoppages and even Kalac went up, but Juve held on for the victory.

Juventus: Buffon; Grygera, Legrottaglie (Stendardo 51), Chiellini, Molinaro; Camoranesi (Nocerino 90), Tiago, Sissoko, Salihamidzic; Del Piero, Trezeguet (Iaquinta 78)

Milan: Kalac; Bonera, Simic, Maldini, Favalli; Gattuso (Gilardino 83), Pirlo (Brocchi 89), Ambrosini; Kakà, Seedorf; Inzaghi (Cafu 69)

Ref: Rocchi

Sent off: Bonera 66 (M)

Thank u LuNo

You're welcome

MILAN-REGGINA

GOALKEEPERS: Dida, Fiori, Kalac, Offredi;

DEFENDERS: Cafu, Digao, Favalli, Kaladze, Nesta, Serginho, Simic;

MIDFIELDERS: Brocchi, Emerson, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Kakà, Pirlo, Seedorf;

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Inzaghi, Pato, Paloschi.

LIVORNO-MILAN

GOALKEEPERS: Fiori, Kalac, Offredi;

DEFENDERS: Oddo, Bonera, Digao, Favalli, Kaladze, Nesta, Jankulovski;

MIDFIELDERS: Brocchi, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Gourcuff, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf;

STRIKERS: Gilardino, Inzaghi, Pato, Paloschi.

Gila Could Leave Milan - Agent

Alberto Gilardino could be on his way out of Milan, his agent has admitted, but nothing will be settled until the end of the season.

Gilardino’s days at Milan have been numbered for quite sometime now following a third hugely disappointing season with the club.

The 25-year-old was tipped by many as Italy’s next great striker when he moved to the Rossoneri from Parma in 2005, but things have just not worked out as planned.

The Italian press firmly believes that Gilardino will be on his way out of San Siro in the summer, with Marco Borriello, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko all possibly arriving in his place.

"We will look at the topic only at the end of the season,” Gila’s agent Francesco Romano told Radio Kiss Kiss, when asked about his client’s future.

“Together we will evaluate every opportunity that is present. For now Gilardino is thinking only about Milan.

“It is clear though that if Milan get Ronaldinho, Shevchenko and Borriello we would have a new discussion.

“But it is still too early to talk about his position because at this time Milan have not yet bought anyone."

Gilardino has scored just seven goals in 30 Serie A appearances this season.