Fiorentina 1 Milan 2

Beckham stayed on the bench for the duration of this three goal thriller which didn't really come to life until the final 15 minutes.
Fiorentina went ahead in the first half after just 14 minutes, and the score stayed the same for more than an hour. On 75 minutes, Leornardo brought Huntelaar on, and it took him only 5 minutes to get the ball in the back of the net courtesy of a neat interchange with Ronaldinho. For the final few minutes Fiorentina were on the back-foot and it was Pato who finished them off in the final minute of added time. Ronaldinho again the provider, losing the ball on the left side of the box, then picking it up again and lofting it cleverly into the danger area. One Milan player took a swipe at it as it went over his head, but it finally fell at Pato's feet with enough time and sight of the goal to smash it through the keeper for 2-1 to an elated Milan side and their very happy visiting support.

AS Bari 0 AC Milan 2

Another game with Beckham resigned to the bench as Leonardo juggles his players to find the best combination. The first half was fairly uneventful, neither side really stamping their authority on the match. Milan were lucky to survive a penalty shout on 26 mins, and Borriello had an effort cleared from the goal line on 40 minutes. However only two minutes later Ronaldinho found Borriello with a searching cross into the box, he met it with his left foot for a mid-air volley that found the target and gave Milan the first goal of the game.
The second half saw Milan start to show their class, but without much return, and they were on the verge of allowing Bari back into the game. On 68 minutes Ronaldinho was free in the box and had his close-range shot saved only for the clearing header to fall to Pato's feet. Pato took the chance to slot the ball into the back of the net to make the score 2-0 to Milan. On 80 minutes Beckham finally joined the fray replacing Gattuso and got plenty of the ball - none of his long cross-field passes were forthcoming though as Milan intended to keep the ball. In the final few minutes, Pato gave away a penalty, but Abbiati in the Milan goal was up to the task and dived low to his right to save it one-handed. Milan walk away with all the points and all the goals...

Milan 2 Man United 3

Beckham starts in this poignant clash between the reds of Manchester and the reds of Milan, and shows class from the start. After just three minutes it was a Beckham free-kick that fell to Ronaldinho after Evra cleared wildly. The Brazilian flashed it past Van De Saar for the first goal of the match. Chances continued to come thick and fast for Milan and Man United looked like they were in for a torrid time.
But Manchester United are not a team to give up easily and it was 10 minutes from half time when Fletcher crossed into the box for Scholes to swing at with his right foot - he mis-kicked and the ball span off his left shin beyond Dida and into the Milan goal. The tempo was set and both teams fought for dominance, a fight in which Milan were marginally ahead - yet the score remained 1-1 up to half time.
The game continued with entertaining football form both teams, Rooney leading the attack for Man United, Ronaldinho full of tricks for Milan. It was Rooney who made the impact on 65 mins, rising in the box to place his looping header over a stranded Dida to go 2-1 up in the tie. Five minutes later Beckham left the field to be replaced by Clarence Seedorf. Just four minutes later Rooney again stole behind the static Milan defence to head a simple chip from Fletcher over a rooted Dida, 3-1 to Man United. Seedorf justified his presence by scoring in the last five minutes with a back-heel finish in the box to give a thrilling finale to the game. Inzaghi who had also only been on the pitch a short while almost made it a draw just seconds later, but shot over the bar. Milan continue to push for the equaliser making a real game of it as the seconds tick away. Michael Carrick was sent off in added time for a second bookable offence, although he committed no foul. The final whistle went, embraces were exchanged and we look forward with keen anticipation to the return leg at Old Trafford.

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...

Getting the gear you want

Whether it's boys toys, gadgets, laptop accessories or essential upgrades for your PC you are after, savings are to be made by shopping from trusted sellers on the internet. The days of high street shopping for cutting-edge technology are all but over, the world-wide-web is better equipped to respond to changes in technology, trends and pricing.
Technological advancements happen so quickly that many items become almost obsolete whilst sitting on a stock shelf.
A few months a go, I needed a laptop bag, but the stock available in the shops (major retailers) were either very expensive or just not big enough. In the end, I managed to find a bargain tucked away, but I know I could have got a better deal on the 'net if I had been prepared to wait a few days for delivery.
Over time, you build up a base of trustworthy websites that give great value for money along with prompt (and reasonably priced) delivery, the latest discovery for me has been gearzap.com. Gearzap has a combination of strong quality brands on offer and prices that beat the high street hands down. Not only that, but this is a UK-based site, no need to work out the current exchange rate, the prices are listed in £UK. I have one more requirement that separates the sites I just look at from the sites I buy from... when I see Paypal is offered as a method of payment, that usually clinches the deal for me.
Gearzap offers accessories specifically matched to some of the laptop market-leaders Dell, Acer, HP, Fujitsu etc. etc., they have laptop hard and soft bags, macbook case supplies, skins, batteries, chargers as well as memory upgrades and card readers, speakers etc. There is still a place in my heart for auction sites if you like your technology to be 'previously enjoyed', but if you like your gadgets 'BNIB', unopened and with a valid warranty, navigate away from auction sites and towards GearZap...

Bologna 0 AC Milan 0

Beckham is displaced by new boy on-loan Mancini for the starting line up for this match. The first half started well for Milan as they began to take charge of the match. Bologna were reduced to hitting Milan on the break despite being the home side. Despite good chances at both ends, neither team managed to get the ball in the net. Mancini played well enough on his debut, but seemed to fade by half time - possibly leaving an opening for Beckham to come off the bench for the second half.

The second half started with the team intact but Beckham was running the lines as if there was a distinct possibility of his imminent arrival. On 60 mins however, it was Huntelaar who came on for Seedorf. Milan asserted themselves as the controlling force in the game throughout the second half, as chances for Bologna to hit them on the break become few and far between. The Bologna keeper Colombo made some fine saves and put his bdoy on the line a number of times to keep Bologna in the game.

It was with just over 10 minutes to go that Ronaldinho finally gave way to Beckham, and Mancini switched to the left-hand side. Playing in a new change kit of white with bright red shorts, Beckham had an immediate and lively impact. He chased the ball, and put in crosses and in the closing minutes, had a strike from open play but sliced over the goal. Four minutes were added, during which time Milan continued to put pressure on the home team. The game finished honours even at 0-0, a result which will be a disappointment for Milan, Bologna on the other hand seemed delighted with the draw.

AC Milan 1 AS Livorno 1

In a first half that saw chances on both sides, Milan began to establish the upper hand in the later stages. Beckham had chances from open play and from set plays, Ronaldinho hit the post, but it was Ambrossini who put the ball in the back of the net in the final minute of the first half. A fine cross from Beckham had the goal keeper fumbling, and Seedorf may have been instrumental in blocking the keeper whilst Ambrossini fired home - the first half finishes 1-0 to Milan.
In the second half, Milan started well, Huntelaar almost doubling their lead. However it was Livorno who scored in the 52nd minute catching the Milan defence standing still. The game continued at high tempo with Milan probably having the better possession and chances, but unable to find the back of the net. Inzaghi came on for Flamini in the final stages signaling Milan's intent to score a winning goal, having suffered losses in the last two home games.
Beckham earned himself another yellow card in the last few minutes for a 'professional' foul, the game went into four minutes of extra time which ended up as more than six minutes, but despite all the pressure that Milan put onto the Livorno goal, there were no further goals to be found, the game finished 1-1, and Livorno will be considerably happier with the result than Milan.

Milan 0 Udinese 1

In the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, Milan are beaten by Udinese. The team picked is quite different from the normal Serie A side and did not feature David Beckham, and some of the other big names. Abbiati had a fine first half in the Milan goal, keeping Udinese from scoring, but they finally broke through on 56 minutes. This takes Udinese to the semi-finals where they will play Roma.

In other news this week, Beckham has told reporters how much he is enjoying playing in Serie A again, and has talked about his intention of eventually buying an MLS franchise. This is the first time since beginning his stint in the MLS, that I have heard him refer to this option. It certainly seems to point to the fact that despite being in Milan, the MLS still figures highly in Beckham's future plans..

Inter Milan 2 AC Milan 0

Beckham starts again in this all-important Milan derby. Inter get off to a devastating start by unlocking the Milan defence and scoring the opening goal after 9 and a half minutes. The start was fast and furious, Beckham drawing the yellow card our of the ref's pocket just three minutes into the game after a clumsy midfield episode.This was not last card to be shown by a long way and the ref looked close to losing control of the game when he rightly booked an Inter player for diving - the replay showed that the ref was fully justified, but the Inter player Sneijder decided to come up to the ref and ironically applaud him to his face, which is foolish enough... but you can imagine the look on Mourinho's face when the ref adjudged Sneijder to be guilty of foul and abusive language and promptly sent him off after just 26 minutes of the game had elapsed. Inter are now down to ten men in the most bizarre circumstances. On 40 minutes, the ref saw fit to send one of the Inter coaching staff to the stands too (ironically after an Inter defender won a free kick with another perfectly executed dive - the replay demonstrating no contact from the Milan striker).
The testy first half ends with AC Milan pushing their numerical advantage onto their Inter Milan rivals, but failing yet to threaten the Inter goal with any on-target shots and still trailing by an early goal.
The second half starts, and even with one goal in the bag, Inter face an uphill struggle without Sneijder who, for the first 20 minutes had looked very dangerous. Maybe this was in their mind when Inter petulantly delayed their arrival for the second half. AC Milan start strongly with a Beckham free-kick quickly followed by two corners, the second of which brought a fabulous reaction save from the Inter goalie, quickly followed by a well-struck but narrowly wide effort from the still very lively Ronaldinho. Milan had plenty of the play and chances to equalise, one of the better ones when Beckham crossed, only to have the ball headed over the crossbar on the hour mark. Inter had a couple of break-away chances, once hitting the goal post after 62 minutes, theatrical challenges punctuate the game as the Inter players sense a ref who may be looking to even things up. Against the run of play, Inter win a free kick on the edge of the box on 63 minutes and promptly score again, turning the knife in the sickened stomachs of the Milan players, leaving them half an hour to rescue the game. Leonardo waited until the last 10 minutes until Huntelaar came on, although many may have expected Inzaghi... However despite lengthy build-up play and long periods of prolonged posession, Milan were thwarted in their efforts to score. Even Ronaldinho had a wild shot over the bar with 6 minutes left on the clock. Milan were just too ponderous on the ball showing little inventiveness and urgency as the time whittled away to nothing, playing more like a team that was two goals up rather than two goals down against ten men.
There was more excitement on 91 minutes and Inter were down to NINE men when the ball was prevented from going in the net by a hand-ball. Ronaldinho stepped up, but failed to convert the goal with just 4 minutes of extra time left. This was the last significant action of a match which ended with huge disappointment for Beckham and the AC Milan team, only matched by the incredible feeling of triumph experienced by Mourinho's men.

Milan 4 Siena 0

Milan won their mid-week cup match 2-1 against Novara without Beckham and look forward the Coppo Italia quarter finals against Livorno on 31st January.
Milan made a quick start in today's game when Burriello found himself facing the keeper after a bad defensive error. He went round the keeper and was brought down, leaving the keeper red-carded and Ronaldinho with the chance to put Milan in the lead. This time there was no mistake, and Milan went 1-0 on the 10 minute mark.
Milan pushed home their one-man advantage and started to dominate the game. However, Maccarone managed to bundle his way through the Milan defence, but squandered the chance by shooting over the cross-bar on 25 minutes. Siena were punished for not taking their chance just two minutes later when Borriello got onto the end of a long cross over his shoulder and volleyed left-footed over the keeper and into the net from close range.
Milan continued to dominate the game and the possession only allowing Siena the occasional foray into their territory. The first half finished 2-0 to Milan who were looking very comfortable at home.

Milan continue to dominate the second half which threatens to stagnate, but Ronaldinho is animated and dancing towards the Siena goal at every opportunity. On 56 minutes, he is one-on-one with the keeper and is only prevented from scoring by the slightest touch from the replacement goal-keepers gloves. Ronaldinho pounces on chance after chance, looking more of a player than he ever looked last year. He finally gets his second goal when Beckham plants the ball on his head from a corner on 71 minutes, and the keeper is left floundering as the ball hits the net, 3-0 Milan and the game is up for Siena.
Siena don't completely give up and just a few minutes later have their best break yet down the left culminating in a very well-saved point-blank header. Siena were also denied a penalty when Maccarone went down in the area on 86 mins, but the replay showed little, if any contact and a dive that would certainly have earned a booking in a Premiership game...
In the final minute, a moment of glory and brilliance from Ronaldinho once again as he held the ball on the edge of the area, then shot across the box and straight into the far right hand corner past a flailing keeper for his third of the match - a well-deserved hat-trick for the most animated and hungry-looking Ronaldinho performance that I have seen playing in a Milan shirt.

Juventus 0 AC Milan 3

Once again, Beckham began the game in his familiar position the day after Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan made his on-loan debut for Everton in the English premiership.
The first half started fairly cautiously with neither Juventus or Milan really establishing the upper hand, and it was on 28 minutes that a corner was not dealt with by the Juve defence, the ball passed through the defenders on the near-post and fell to Nesta who made no mistake from all of 1 yard to put Milan 1-0 up.
The first half delivered no further goals, but like Wednesdays game, the tackles were flying in and the ref's whistle was kept busy. Beckham appeared to be fitting in well to the Serie A side, but was not as busy this time as in the previous game where he was often to be found in and around the penalty area.
The second half started in earnest as both teams sought out another goal. As a statement of intent, Juve brought on Del Piero after just 10 mins of the second half, but after 71 minutes Milan scored again from a corner to take them 2 up. Ronaldinho headed into the back of the Juventus net to give Milan a two-goal cushion. Milan kept possession for much of the remainder of the game much to the frustration of the Juve faithful who let of enough fire-crackers for the cameras to lose sight of much of the game. However, in the closing minutes, Beckham popped a lovely cross into the box for Ronaldinho to slot home for his second and Milan's third.
3-0 and an official 'assist' for the English star in what has been a very good week for AC Milan.

AC Milan 5 Genoa 2

Beckham returns to the field for Milan, pretty much where he left off despite vowing to play anywhere on the pitch that Milan needed him. He was in a familiar position doing a familiar job, some passes were wayward, but others were superb, as was some of the close interplay with his new team-mates.
After just 13 minutes Ronaldinho was expected to open the scoring when Milan were awarded a spot-kick, however this was one occasion when his weak penalty was reasonable easily saved...
Just two minutes later, Ambrosini lays off to Beckham on the edge of the box, but Beckham screws the shot some way wide of the right-hand post. On 24 mins, Genoa punish Milan's failure to score with a well-worked cross into the box, which was all too easily headed home by Sculli, 0-1 to Genoa...
on 31 mins, a lovely Beckham pass is laid off to Ambrosini who is brought down by the keeper, this time Ronaldhino shoots to the left and scores to bring the sides level.
A minute later Beckham pounces onto a loose ball whilst Borriello is asking for a foul, this time shaving the left hand post with a very well struck shot. Beckham continues to be a presence in front of goal but struggles to get the ball out of his feet for the final shot. On 37 minutes, Milan have a free kick halfway into the Genoa half, the ball is passed into the box from the right and shots fly in from several angles until eventually Silva finds the back of the net to put Milan ahead for the first time. Only a minute elapses before we find Beckham flashing a cross in from the far-right which narrowly fails to find a Milan boot.
The game is being played in earnest, there are plenty of tackles going in (and invariably plenty of falling to the floor clutching various parts of the anatomy...), but the score remains at 2-1 up to the half-time whistle.
After a mere three minutes played in the second half, Borriello is found in front of goal by Antonini - he slots it away to take the score to 3-1 and Milan are flying. Borriello again on the hour-mark, this time gets onto a searching cross, he is behind the defence and takes a flying scissor-volley and is somewhat fortunate to hit it into the ground and see it sail over the keeper and into the far left corner of the net - 4-1 in spectacular style - even the narrowest of chances are going in. However on 70 minutes, Gattuso wastes a chance after the ball falls into his path, but only two minutes later Ronaldinho finds a defenders hand in his face in the box and Milan have their third penalty of the night! This time, Huntelaar confidently puts the ball away for 5-1 to Milan.
At 75 minutes, Beckham leaves the field to rapturous applause from the Milan faithful - a somewhat more heart-warming response that the one he received on his return to California last year! Just three minutes later, Genoa get a consolation as Suazo gets free from the Milan defence and bangs the ball into the net for a final score of 5-2.
Does Beckham look at home? You bet he does... he is right where he should be to present the best possible case for inclusion in the England squad as long as he can remain injury-free.