AC Milan vs. Palermo: Winners and Losers from Serie A Game
AC Milan suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Palermo in Serie A's Sunday night match, as the Rossoneri went three league games without a win in the process.
The goals came in the space of three first-half minutes as Palermo picked up their first away win of the season, and third in four games, to take a deserved three points.
We've looked back at the game to pick out all our biggest winners and losers from the fixture.
Loser: Cristian Zapata
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It's bad enough to be named on the subs bench instead of in the starting XI, but Colombian defender Cristian Zapata's day got a whole lot worse after he was called upon to join the game, just two minutes in.
Shortly after replacing Alex, he managed to leap and divert a corner into his own net with a firm downward header, giving Palermo the lead.
Then, within minutes, he was twice left for dead by Paulo Dybala—the second occasion of which saw Palermo double their lead.
Winner: Diego Lopez
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Milan were two goals down by half-time, but without Diego Lopez it could have been double that—or worse.
The Spanish stopper made two top-class stops in the first 45 minutes, firstly from a one-on-one against Dybala and then from a long-range shot from Edgar Barreto, leaping to tip it over the crossbar. It's not an exaggeration to say that Milan could easily have been embarrassed had Lopez not been in such fine form.
He didn't have much to do after the break, but the rest of his team were nowhere near up to his standards.
Loser: Fernando Torres
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Another game, another clean sheet for Fernando Torres...
The Spanish striker continues to search for his first goal at the San Siro for Milan, with Palermo keeping him out by a combination of organised defending to stop the service into the penalty area and Torres' own profligacy in front of goal.
He managed four shots during the match, per WhoScored.com, none of which were on target, and didn't contribute much in buildup play either.
Winner: Giuseppe Iachini
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Palermo might have been hovering above the drop zone before kick-off, but manager Giuseppe Iachini deserves great credit for sending his side out positively regardless—and it paid off big time.
The Sicilians were quicker to press and challenge in midfield and looked to get numbers forward on the counter immediately after the ball was won. Their 3-5-1-1 set-up allowed a compact shape to be difficult to break down, yet there was always the commitment to throw men forward, too.
A half-time team talk would have reinforced the need for concentration and determination, and Palermo saw out the game with ease as a result, taking a deserved win.
Loser: Any Thoughts of the Trip Back to the Top 3 Being Easy
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Just a couple of weeks back, Milan were being spoken about as potential challengers for third place and the Champions League, on the back of a goal-crazy start to the season and Napoli's poor form.
Fast forward three games without a win and Milan have only scored twice in three games, have dropped to seventh place and have seen Napoli bypass them, unbeaten in five. Meanwhile, they face Sampdoria away next week—the side currently in third, three points ahead of Pippo Inzaghi's team.
Milan were without ideas in attack, slow on the ball in midfield and far too open at the back. It's a long road back to the top, and the signs from Sunday are that there is still an awful lot of work to go before a Champions League place can even be thought of, let alone attained.
