Print

Mail

wiki links

LEGA CALCIO: AC Milan visit the Viola for crucial Serie A match

European champions AC Milan will tackle Fiorentina tomorrow in a match that could have major ramifications in the race for a Champions league place.

Milan currently sit sixth in the table after a disastrous start to the season saw them languishing in mid-table until the turn of the year, since when four wins in five matches has seen them surge up the standings.

Even so, Milan's situation remains precarious as they trail Fiorentina in fourth spot and crucially the final Champions League qualification position, by seven points.

Milan do have a game in hand on their rivals but should they lose tomorrow their hopes of overhauling the Viola would be seriously dented.

Despite Milan's run of 12 points from a possible 15 they have been anything but convincing.

On Wednesday they laboured to a patchy 1-0 win at lowly Reggina while another of their victories last month was an undeserved 1-0 success at Udinese.

They also lost 2-1 at Atalanta and even the scintillating 5-2 win over Napoli or last weekend's comfortable 2-0 defeat of Genoa can not paper over the cracks -- Milan are far from their best.

They have the added worry of strikers Ronaldo and Filippo Inzaghi confined to the treatment room but in their absence Italy forward Alberto Gilardino has at least reminded everyone of his worth.

Gilardino was said to be very unhappy that he was only brought on with two minutes to play last weekend but he scored the winner against Reggina in midweek -- as he had done against Udinese.

That latest winner moved Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti to claim that his Italy international forward maybe plays better when he is upset.

Much was made of Gilardino's apparent strop but the player himself insists it was just tabloid talk.

"After the Genoa match a non-existent problem was invented," he said.

Gilardino was said to be angry that he has been shunted onto the bench in favor of new teenage Brazilian striker Pato, who started all five league matches last month, while Gilardino started only twice.

But the Italy man says he is happy to play with the 18-year-old wonderkid.

"I like to play with Pato because he is a very good player, very quick and with different strengths to mine," he said. "He works right across the front line and allows me to make important runs."

Despite his own scoring run, Gilardino admits his teammates need to do a lot more if they are to find their true form, something clearly lacking now.

They are also running into a team on a four-match winning run who have rediscovered the form they showed in the early part of the season when they were leaders Inter Milan's closest challengers.

"We need to find a way to make better use of the ball during matches so we work less and don't get so tired to avoid being hit on the counterattack," Gilardino said.

Ancelotti should welcome back Paolo Maldini, Serginho and Marek Jankulovski from injury but Ronaldo and Inzaghi again miss out.

Champions Inter face a straight-forward home match with Empoli while Juventus host rock-bottom Cagliari and second-placed Roma face a tricky trip to Siena.
This story has been viewed 2398 times.