Milan search for the right answers

One can only be puzzled by the poor start Milan, Roma and Fiorentina have had to the 2008-09 Serie A season. Along with minnows Cagliari, Milan are still without a point after two matches whereas Roma and Fiorentina, widely billed as outsiders for the league title, have only a point to show for their efforts.

Milan played some good football in their opening day defeat to Bologna but the same cannot be said of their performance in a shock loss to a Genoa side that had been beaten by Catania two weeks earlier.

The Rossoneri never got going and rarely threatened the Genoa defence despite fielding three former Golden Ball winners in Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and Kaka from the start.

Carlo Ancelotti's decision in the second half to substitute Shevchenko and Ronaldinho, who made way for Marco Borriello and Clarence Seedorf, was a clear proof of the chaotic state Milan are in at the moment.

Milan's forwards have failed to leave their mark so far, the midfielders have looked slow and static and their ageing defence is very shaky.

Although one might argue that it's far too early to make any judgments, it seems pretty clear that some players cannot be in the same formation at the same time, especially at a stage when the team's physical fitness is far from optimal.

In attack, Ancelotti is spoilt for choice. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Seedorf, Alexandre Pato, Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi and Borriello are competing for three spots at the maximum.

Bearing in mind that Milan's best results under Ancelotti were achieved with Kaka deployed behind a lone striker, one doubts whether the Milan coach truly believes that the 4-3-3 system can work.

This summer, Milan have invested heavily in big-name players and as a consequence, their revenue from merchandising and sales of season tickets has increased. But high-profile players do not necessarily guarantee success on the field of play.

For instance, Milan have signed Ronaldinho and Shevchenko at a time when they already had Borriello and Pato, two up-and-coming strikers, in their ranks.

And what about their defence?

The fact that Paolo Maldini (40) and Giuseppe Favalli (36) are still regulars does not augur well.

The injury-prone Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze and Marek Jankulovski are not getting any younger and new signing Gianluca Zambrotta, who arrived from Barcelona, is not the player he was two years ago when he played for Juventus. It remains to be seen if Swiss international Philippe Senderos will settle at Milan.

Ancelotti needs to take important decisions to boost his team's fortunes. To begin with, he has to find a playing system with a strong midfield that can offer some much-needed cover to the defence.

Milan only have the Serie A and UEFA Cup to focus on this season.

Although it is evident that there are certain shortcomings in the way the team was built over the summer, many still believe that Ancelotti is still the right man to pull Milan out of this bumpy period.

It is only a matter of time before Milan reach their best physical form. It is very important for the club to back Ancelotti's decisions even if these mean that some of the big names are demoted to the substitutes' bench.

Serie A statistics

0 points for Milan. It was 22 years ago when the Rossoneri last lost their opening two fixtures, against Ascoli and Verona. On Sunday, Milan lost 2-0 to Genoa at the Marassi for the first time since April 15, 1984 (2-0). Milan, Sampdoria and Cagliari have the poorest scoring record so far... only one goal in favour. Lecce bounced back from their 0-3 defeat to Torino as they scored two second-half goals to beat fellow newcomers Chievo 2-0. Chievo have not managed to score a goal in their last four visits to the Via Del Mare Stadium - 0-3, 0-0, 0-3 and 0-2.

1 penalty was awarded by referees last weekend. At the Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Genoa were 1-0 up against Milan when referee Rocchi awarded a late penalty in favour of the hosts. From the 11 metres, new Argentine signing Diego Milito made no mistake to cap his return with Genoa after three seasons at Real Zaragoza in the Spanish Primera Liga. Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari was the only player to be sent off last weekend. Juventus gained their first win after three draws - last season vs Catania (1-1) and Sampdoria (3-3) and against Fiorentina (1-1) as the Bianconeri beat a determined Udinese side 1-0 thanks to Carvalho Amauri's first goal for the club.

2 teams, Lazio and Atalanta, have maximum points after two games. Lazio scored a goal in each half to beat Sampdoria for the fourth successive year in Rome. Delio Rossi's much-improved side possess the most prolific attack in the Serie A with six goals. This is the first time in five years that Lazio have started the season with two wins in their opening two fixtures. Sampdoria, together with Cagliari, Milan, Fiorentina, Roma and Reggina, are still in search of their first win of the term. Luigi Del Neri's Atalanta went on to beat Bologna at their Dall'Ara Stadium for the third time in their last six visits.

3 wins and two draws for Siena in their last five home meetings with unfancied Cagliari. On Sunday, Siena obtained a 2-0 victory. Emerging coach Davide Ballardini, formerly of Cagliari, returned with a bang as his new team Palermo beat Coppa Italia holders Roma for the first time since February 27, 2005 (2-0). Inter made it three home wins on the trot after beating Catania 2-1.

5 wins and one draw for Napoli in their most recent six home games (taking into consideration the last part of last season). On Sunday, Napoli came from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1. Napoli, who tomorrow cross swords with Benfica in the UEFA Cup, extended their recent positive trend at home against Fiorentina with three wins in their last four meetings.

22 goals, evenly netted in the first and second halves, were scored on the second day: 17 coming from the hosts and the remaining five from the visitors, who managed only one victory. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 48. Foreigners contributed with 11 goals. Two players, Christian Terlizzi (Catania) and Marco Di Loreto (Torino), committed an own goal each. Palermo hit-man Fabrizio Miccoli was the only player who grabbed a brace in the weekend's fixtures. Siena's French import Abdel Ghezzal was the only player who came on as a substitute and found the back of the net.