AC Milan 3 Udinese 2

In a match brought forward to allow Milan more time to prepare for Manchester united in the coming week, Beckham was on the bench again as Alex Ferguson watched the game as part of his teams preparation. Mancini once again started on the right in a slightly more forward role than we would normally expect to see Beckham playing.
It took less than seven minutes for Ronaldinho to pop up on the right hand side from a corner, and put a cross in for Huntelaar to head into the back of the net from point blank range. As the goal went in, Mancini was having his thigh strapped up by the coaching staff which left you wondering how long he would last, and it was only about 4 minutes later that Pato came on to replace him. Pato failed to make an initial impression despite having the ball in the back of the net (offside) on 23 minutes. Just 15 minutes later, Ronaldinho released Pato who took it past the keeper at speed for the second goal of the match whilst Thiago Silva was off the pitch having thigh problems. 2-0 to Milan who were starting to take control of the game. Despite this dominance, Milan conceded in the very last breath of the first half from a powerful header that slammed into the chest of goalkeeper Dida but still ended up in the back of the net. Milan 2 Udinese 1 at half time.
Udinese started the second half with a bit more conviction after their timely goal at the very end of the first half. Despite the resurgence of the Udinese team given confidence by the goal, it was Milan who scored once more to open up a two-goal gap through Huntelaar once again who found himself turning to face goal with the ball at his feet from a Ronaldinho free-kick. 3-1 to Milan who have soaked up a lot of Udinese pressure and still have come out on top. Milan do not really take the chance to close out the game and continue allow Udinese clear chances to attack the Milan goal. In the 71st minute, Huntelaar came close to getting his hat-trick from another free-kick, as Beckham still waited on the sidelines. On 74 minutes, Gattuso spurned a chance to score in front of goal and Ronaldinho had a strong header saved, seconds before being replaced by David Beckham.
On 85 minutes, Beckham sent a long searching ball that picked out Pato perfectly behind the Udinese defence, Pato failed to convert despite shooting from an angle, the ball hitting the keeper and spinning agonisingly on the goal line... Just seconds later Udinese broke away and fired past Dida for a second goal, pinning the margin back to one goal at Milan 3 Udinese 2 with just 4 minutes left on the clock. The ref adds two minutes to the game, which Milan successfully run down, Beckham getting away with a late challenge which could have earned him a booking. Milan win a scrappy game which frankly could have gone either way, are they really prepared for Manchester United and Wayne Rooney? Time will tell...