AC Milan, with Kaka, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko in their line-up, lost 2-0 at Genoa on Sunday to plunge the seven-time European champions into crisis.
It was Milan’s second defeat in the opening two games of the Serie A season following a 2-1 home loss to Bologna and put renewed pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti, who failed to guide the team to the Champions League last season.
Giuseppe Sculli opened the scoring for Genoa after 30 minutes, with Diego Milito adding an injury-time penalty to give the home side their first win against Milan on their own soil since 1983. Milan are now second from bottom, propped up by Cagliari, who are also without a point.
PHOTO: AFP
After the match, Milan general manager Adriano Galliani issued a warning to Ancelotti, who has presided over the club’s worst start since 1986.
“He doesn’t risk the sack, but he’d better stop losing,” Galliani said.
Ancelotti, who has been at the helm for eight seasons, said he was confident he could solve the problems.
“We have time to fix things and I am certain that we will. This is my Milan,” he said.
Shevchenko, who returned to Milan from Chelsea in the summer, said his teammates were feeling the strain.
“This defeat weighs on the players. It is a difficult moment and we must try to stick together, trying to find a victory so we can get back on track,” the Ukrainian said. “It’s tricky to say what we are missing at the moment, but it just seems to be a bad time for us.”
Lazio lead the way after a second victory in two games, a 2-0 win over Sampdoria with Mauro Zarate after seven minutes and Goran Pandev in the 72nd minute on target.
Atalanta also have a 100-percent record and are second in the table following a 1-0 win at Bologna, with Tiberio Guarente grabbing the only goal after nine minutes.
Fiorentina are another Italian side having problems after slumping to a 2-1 defeat at Napoli which left them sixth from bottom. Adrian Mutu put Fiorentina ahead in the 41st minute, but headers from Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio gave Napoli the three points.
In Sunday’s late game, Juventus picked up their first win, with Amauri grabbing the goal in a 1-0 victory at home to Udinese.
Italian Serie A
Team P GD PTS
1 Lazio 2 5 6
2 Atalanta 2 2 6
3 Torino 2 3 4
4 Inter 2 1 4
5 Napoli 2 1 4
6 Juventus 2 1 4
7 Udinese 2 1 3
8 Genoa 2 1 3
9 Siena 2 1 3
10 Palermo 2 0 3
11 Bologna 2 0 3
12 Catania 2 0 3
13 Chievo 2 -1 3
14 Lecce 2 -1 3
15 Fiorentina 2 -1 1
16 Reggina 2 -1 1
17 Roma 2 -2 1
18 Sampdoria 2 -2 1
19 AC Milan 2 -3 0
20 Cagliari 2 -5 0
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