The hosts came into this game on the back of two disappointing draws against Fiorentina & Cagliari. They would be hoping for a reaction against Palermo tonight. In terms of team selection the major news was that Diego López was finally brought into the line-up after recovering from his hamstring injury that he suffered in the 5-4 victory against Parma earlier on in the season. Also it was a first league start of the season for 22 year old Italian midfielder Riccardo Saponara who replaced the suspended Sulley Muntari. Palermo on the hand came into this game in decent form, 6 points from a possible 9. Two wins in their last three, the only defeat coming against Juventus in Turin.
This is how both teams lined up.
AC Milan's XI : Diego López ; Abate, Alex, Rami, De Sciglio; Poli, De Jong, Saponara; Honda,Torres & Ménez.
Palermo's XI : Sorrentino; Munoz, Gonzalez, Andelkovic; Morganella, Bolzoni, Maresca, Barreto, Lazaar; Dybala & Vazquez.
Palermo began the game very quickly testing López within the first two minutes, Franco Vazquez took advantaged of a defensive error and forced López into a good one-handed save. Alex had lost the ball in the build up through injury and was subsequently subbed off for Zapata. First chance of the game for Milan came when Ménez played Poli through. However the Italian international couldn't keep his effort on target as Sorrentino came rushing out. Early on Palermo looked threatening and this only continued as the game wore on. Lazaar took a shot which was palmed away for a corner by López. From the resulting corner Palermo took the lead as substitute Cristián Zapata headed the ball into his own net accidentally. Remarkably that was the third own goal Milan have conceded this season, more then any other Serie A side. Just a minute later Paulo Dybala was played in by Edgar Barreto but López did well block his shot one-on-one. That like a seemed a dress-rehearsal for what was about to follow moments later. Dybala picked up the ball and showed great strength by out muscling Zapata and sending his strike to the far top corner across López's goal. 38 minutes had been played at the San Siro and Palermo were still pressing to score more. This time it was López who came to the rescue after an initial mistake from Honda, Barreto took full advantage and hit a curling effort only to be brilliantly saved by the Spaniard.
In the second half, Pippo Inzaghi completely changed the formation in what would play as a 4-2-4 system with defensive midfielder Poli coming off for Stephan El Shaarawy. He was booked for simulation not that long after coming on but his first positive contribution came around the 53rd minute. The Italian international curled a effort from 25 yards just wide, he later forced Sorrentino into a conformable save after a weak header. The game finished 2-0 to the Sicilian side, thanks to an own goal from Zapata and fine finish from 20 year old Argentine Paulo Dybala.
The most concerning aspect of this defeat for Milan is that they never looked like threatening even after the formation change, the introduction of Stephan El Shaarawy and Giampaolo Pazzini. However Milan have a fantastic opportunity to bounce back from his defeat with a trip to high-flying Sampdoria. For Palermo on the other hand it looks a bit more upbeat, 3 wins from their last 4 games shows they finally might be adapting to life back in the top flight. Their next game is against Udinese, a tough encounter that will take place at the Stadio Renzo Barbera in a weeks time.