MILAN - Here's the list of designated referees for Match Day 7:
Catania-Parma Calvarese (Avellano, Nicoletti. Fourth man: Viazzi. Russo and Merchiori); Chievo-Sampdoria (Saturday 6 October at 18.00): Gervasoni (Costanzo-Di Fiore, Fourth man: Paganesi, Russo and Merchiori). Fiorentina-Bologna: Orsato (Marrazzo-Giachero, Fourth man: Grilli, Tagliavento-Giancola). Genoa-Palermo: Tommasi (Rosi, Doboz. Fourth man: Faverani, Giacomelli-Roca). Milan-Inter Sunday at 20.45: Valeri (Manganelli-Maggiani. Fourth man: Giallatini. Rizzoli, Guida). Napoli-Udinese Sunday at 20.45: Doveri (De Luca-Liberti, Fourth man: Petrella. Massa, Baracani). Pescara-Lazio: De Marco (Crispo-La Rocca. Fourth man: Marzaloni, Damato-Abbattista). Roma-Atalanta Sunday at 12.30: Banti (Vuoto-Passeri, Fourth man Niccolai. Rocchi-Pinzani). Siena-Juventus: Mazzoleni (Bianchi-Iannello. Fourth man: Stefani. Romeo-Palazzino). Torino-Cagliari: Cieli (Tasso-Giordano. Fourth man: Tonolini. Ostinelli-Pasqua).

MILAN - Paolo Valeri was born in Rome on 16 May 1974 and made his Serie A debut in December 2007 with Udinese-Empoli. He has 62 games experience in the Italian top flight and has refereed Milan 7 times with a record of 6 wins and a draw. With Inter he has done 9 games: 2 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses. He last game with the Rossoneri was Chievo-Milan, 0-1 on 10 April 2012.

MILAN - No suspensions for either team ahead of Sunday's Derby with captain Massimo Ambrosini and Daniele Bonera a booking away from a suspension as is Fredy Guarin for the visitors.

MILANELLO - Milan got back down to training on Thursday morning following their return from St. Petersburg last night and coach Massimiliano Allegri was greeted with some good news on the injury front with the return of Alexandre Pato to full training.
The Brazilian star has been out injured since the end of August but he was there with the rest of the squad to go through his paces.
Those players who did not play in Russia got down to a warm-up which was followed by ball possession and a practice match.
The team will be back in training on Friday afternoon to prepare for the derby on Sunday evening. 
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Despite the break in official action, Aldo Dolcettis players will keep up their match fitness on Saturday with a match against pro Vercelli kicking off at 15.00 at the Vismara sports center.

MILAN - Since taking over at the club, Allegri has played 14 group stage games in the UEFA Champions League and the points total between home and away games is almost in perfect balance:
PLAYED AT THE SAN SIRO: 3 wins - 2 draws- 2 lossesPOINTS: 11PLAYED AWAY: 2 wins - 4 draws - 1 lossPOINTS: 10

MILAN - Stephan El Shaarawy: 5 goals in 4 matches:
Udinese-Milan 2-1 - 1 GOALMilan-Cagliari 2-0 - 2 GOALSParma-Milan 1-1 - 1 GOALZenit-Milan 2-3 - 1 GOAL
The last time a run like this was seen was thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 2010/2011 season:
Milan-Palermo 3-1 - 1 GOALInter-Milan 0-1 - 1 GOALMilan-Fiorentina 1-0 - 1 GOALAuxerre-Milan 0-2 - 1 GOAL
Stephan has a goal extra in the same number of games while Ibra has a points total higher for the team (12). It should be pointed out that all of Stephan's goals came from running play while 2 goals for Zlatan came from penalties.

MILAN - Just who was the best player on the pitch in Ruissia? Here are the votes from the Italian sports dailies:
GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT: Abbiati 7.5 - El Shaarawy 7.5, but given the Man of the Match awardCORRIERE DELLO SPORT: Abbiati 9 - El Shaarawy 7.5TUTTOSPORT: Abbiati 7.5 - El Shaarawy 7CORRIERE DELLA SERA: Abbiati 7.5 - El Shaarawy 7.5LA REPUBBLICA: Abbiati 7.5 - El Shaarawy 7.5IL GIORNALE: Abbiati 7 - El Shaarawy 7

MILANELLO - Pato had already started back training wiht the group last week and today he was part of the group which started work at10.30 at the Milanello sports centre.
The Brazilian is expected to play in a few friendlies before his scheduled return to Serie A againat Lazio in Rome after the internatioanl break.
 
 

MILAN - This season's Derby falls on Match Day 7 in Serie A. Here's a look back on what has happened in past derby days on match Day 7:
- 23 October 1999 Inter-Milan 1-2 (pen. Ronaldo, Shevchenko, Weah)- 21 October 2001 Inter-Milan 2-4 (Ventola, Sheva, Contra, Inzaghi, Sheva, Kallon)- 24 October 2004 Milan-Inter 0-0

MILAN - Click here for all the photos from Milan's match in Russia this evening.

MILAN - All the post match interviews from players and staff.

MILAN - The Rossoneri have their first champions league win of the season thanks to goals from Emanuelson, El Shaarawy and a second half own goal!

MILAN – In football, evening’s like this are called turning points. In one of the hardest places in Europe to travel to, Milan come out 3-2 winners and get back the points dropped against Anderlecht. A big performance from the players who started well and took the game back in hand after some difficult moments.
Milan started with the same 4-2-3-1 that we saw against Parma but with Emanuelson and Montolivo instead of Nocerino and Ambrosini. After the kick, off Bojan turned well and Malafeev gets his first save of the game. Bystrov from distance failed to really test Abbiati and it was all Milan for the first 20 minutes. Emanuelson broke the deadlock on 13’ earning a free kick and taking it only for the ball to deflect off Shirnov giving Malafeev no chance. Allegri’s team kept pushing. Two minutes later a cross from Antonini and Emanuelson hit the side netting on the far post. On 16’, El Shaarawy got the ball on the lift and leads two defenders in his wake as he smacks the ball past the keeper. 2-0 and it could even have been 3 on 19’ when Bojan was brought down in the area but no penalty was given. Abbitati was then xcalled into action a few times. Then on 33’ he did well to push out a shot from Hulk for a corner. A superlative save came on 40’ with a  frightening strike from the same player on the edge of the area an Abbitati pulled off a miracle to stop him celebrating the goal. Then, in the second minute of injury time, Hulk finally got his goal with a violent left footed shot. At half time it was Milan up 2-1.
The home side pushed hard early in the second half and on 4’, Hulk wins another corner and the Rossoneri fefense was unprepared. Shirokov brought his side back square. Pazzini then came on for Bojan and Milan gain more presence in the final third. On 9’, Abate crossed from the right for Boateng but the header was off. Allegtri then brought on Nocerino for Emahuelson beefing up the middle of the field. Zenit drop and Milan push on. With 15 left, Milan went back into the lead. Montolivo crossed from the right and Hubocan deflects the ball past his keeper trying to get there ahead of Pazzini and Abbiati did his job well to ensure that Milan saw out the rest of the game without conceding. A big win for the team and it has come right in the nick of time. Now for the derby.THE NUMBERSZENIT-MILAN 2-3GOALS: Emanuelson (M) on 13', El Shaarawy (M) on 16', Hulk (Z) on 46'fh; Shirokov (Z) al 4', O.G. Hubocan (Z) al 30'shZENIT (4-3-3): Malafeev; Anyukov, Hubocan, Lombaerts (44'st Bukharov), Criscito; Shirokov, Fayzulin (34'st Kanunnikov), Witsel; Bystrov (27'st Zyryanov), Kerzhakov, Hulk. Subs: Baburin, Bruno Alves, Lukovic, Lumb. All. SpallettiMILAN (4-2-3-1): Abbiati; Abate, Bonera, Zapata, Antonini; De Jong, Montolivo; Emanuelson (19'st Nocerino), Boateng (35'st Yepes), El Shaarawy; Bojan (7'st Pazzini). Subs: Amelia, Mexes, Flamini, Robinho. All. AllegriREFEREE: Brych (German)NOTES: Booked: Fayzulin, Anyukov, Hubocan, Shirokov, Bonera, El Shaarawy, Yepes. Corners 13-2

MILAN – On Sunday evening at 20.45, the San Siro will come alive with Milan facing city rivals Inter. Milan-Inter, the two words say it all. It’ll the 278th derby for the city with a balance favorable to the Rossoneri with 108 wins compared to 97 for the Nerazzurri and 72 draws. An appointment with history for a game that has been played for more than 100 years. The first Milan derby dates back to 10 January 1909 which Milan won 3-2 with goals from Trèrè, Lana and Laich.
Speaking purely of league games and more specifically, matches played with Milan as the home side, this will be match number 79, with 29 wins for the ‘home’ side, 22 draws and 30 wins for Inter.
There hasn’t been a  draw with Milan playing at home since the 2004/2005 season when the game ended scoreless. Since then it’s been 4 wins for Milan and there for Inter. In 2005/2006, it ended 1-0 with a goal from Kaladze, in 2008/2009, Ronoldhino scored his first Serie A goal to give the Rossoneri the win. In 2010/2011, 3-0 ( a double from Pato and a goal from Cassano). The three Inter wins are dated 2006/2007 with an unforgettable 4-3, 2009/2010 with a 4-0 win on Match day 2 and the 1-0 of last January, the last time the Rossoneri were the home side.Allegri’s Deby record is 3 wins and two draws as the Super Cup played in Beijing was a derby too!Here’s a look back at all the Milan-Inter matches from 2000 on:1999/00: MILAN-INTER 1-2 (Shevchenko)2000/01: MILAN-INTER 2-2 (Boban, Bierhoff)2001/02: MILAN-INTER 0-12002/03: MILAN-INTER 1-0 (Serginho)2003/04: MILAN-INTER 3-2 (Tomasson, Kakà, Seedorf)2004/05: MILAN-INTER 0-02005/06: MILAN-INTER 1-0 (Kaladze)2006/07: MILAN-INTER 3-4 (Seedorf, Gilardino, Kakà)2007/08: MILAN-INTER 2-1 (Inzaghi, Kakà)2008/09: MILAN-INTER 1-0 (Ronaldinho)2009/10: MILAN-INTER 0-42010/11: MILAN-INTER 3-0 (Pato, Pato, Cassano)2011/12: MILAN-INTER 0-1 (Milito)

MILAN - The Rossoneri are in the lead in Russia with 2 goals to 1. Emanuelson scored from a free kick on 13' and two minutes later El Shaarawy made it 2 with a great goal. Hulk got one back for the home side after two minutes of injury time.

MILAN - Here's how thye two teams will takie to the pitch shortly for Zenit-Milan at the Ptrovskij Stadium:
 
MILAN: Abbiati, Abate, Bonera, Zapata, Antonini, De Jong, Montolivo, Emanuelson, Boateng, El Shaarawy, Bojan.ZENIT: Malafeev, Anyukov, Hubocan, Lombaerts, Criscito, Fayzulin, Shirokov, Witsel, Bystrov, Kerzhakov, Hulk.

 
Riccardo Montolivo joined coach Allegri in the Zenit-Milan pre-match press conference. The midfielder makes his return to Europe's premier competition after a two year absence and is keen to make this into a positive experience."I am happy to be back in the Champions League two after what happened with Bayern (against Fiorentina) that left me very shocked. I wasn't available for the first game against Anderlecht and I am very happy to be training for this match. We feel responsible for our start this season and we want to make up for it in Europe."According to the former Fiorentina man, the atmosphere surrounding the rossoneri at the moment is similar to that experience prior to the Euros with Italy. "In the last few games there is the same sceptical attitude towards Milan that there was with the Italy team before the Euros. In that case we came out of it by listening to our coach  and by believing in ourselves and we have to do the same thing here. I have been injured recently and am not 100% fit yet. I know that I haven't produced my best at Milan yet but I hope to start tomorrow."It has been a difficult period for Montolivo who not only has had to deal with the injury problems but is still trying to settle into a new team that plays in a different way."We are looking to find our best set-up. I can play in front of the defence but in the moment I am playing as an internal midfielder which is what suits me best although I have played all over the midfield. We know that is isn't a great moment for us but we must all stick together if we want improve and do better."
 

MILANO - It promises to be the most important week of Allegri's season so far and as the Milan players acclimatise to the new temperature the coach held the usual pre-match press conference in St Petersburg ahead of the clash with Luciano Spalletti's Zenit. The coach was calm and relaxed but warned that his side must be on top of their game. It is a delicate encounter for both sides who are underperforming in this start of season."I knew it was a well balance group and it will be with Milan and Zenit fighting for a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Tomorrow we have to show that we are a good team from a technical point of view and we have a lot of improving to do. I am only thinking about my team and not about the names linked to my job, which are numerous. We played well at Parma but didn't win. I love the job I do and this team has changed a lot in recent months so we have also had to change the way we play a little."Zenit are currently sixth in the league and are still struggling to get the best out of their new signings, Hulk and Witsel, although Allegri knows that they will always be a danger against any side. "I have watched Zenit games before and after the crisis and they are an excellent team. The Russian league is on the up and they are attracting lot of quality players. Hulk and Witsel are excellent players and they have improved the side."The rossoneri coach also had time to praise the beauty of the city."St Petersburg is a very beautiful city. We managed to see the Hermitage Museum but unfortunately we haven't had the time to see anything else in the city."

MILAN - Luciano Spalletti also added: "Hulk can do better. He has to mix up his positions on the pitch a little better but in honesty he is already doing well and deserves a little more luck. But I like Hulk the way he is. I don't think Zenit are looking to buy Busquest and I hope that in future Denisov will be able to reason with a clearer head come and give us a hand. Against Milan we have to be aggressive and score goals. Witsel is available and if repeats what he did yesterday he will get a game, although we don't have to put too much pressure on those who ahev just arrived."

MILAN - Mimmo Criscito also spoke to journalists ahead of the match against the rossoneri: "I went to Milan to prepare the mask that I can wear after the bad hit to my cheek bone. I will be available tomorrow. Playing against an Italian team is a special thing for me and both teams are going through a rough patch at the moment. We want to put the bad defeat against Malaga against us. I have known El Shaarawy for a long time and I see he is carrying the weight of responsibility very well. We have to watch all their strikers and keep our focus."

MILAN - Luciano Spalletti, the Italian coach of Zenit St Petersburg, spoke to journalists in the pre-match press conference. This is what he had to say: "The game against Milan is the game of the year for us, we cannot fail, otherwise we risk not qualifying for the next round. If we play our best we can beat anyone. Allegri is a quality coach and is creative and he has confidence in the job that he is doing. He has maintained the same defining characteristics he had as a player also as a coach. At the moment Milan are a little like us because they are also struggling a little and playing below their best but this competition can make you rediscover your best form. I have to see how Lambaerts is doing while Criscito looked very good today. Semak, Denisov and Yanbayev will not be playing. My team has a lot of character and they know hhow to react to certain situations. Nobody has taken our place in the Russian league, we are still Zenit. That is why it is such an important game against Milan because we got it all wrong against Malaga."

MILAN - The Milan squad arrived in St Petersburg yesterday evening. The temperature is considerably colder than in Italy (around 10 degrees) but it isn't raining. Domenico Criscito did not train with the Russian team and is a doubt for the match.

MILAN - As Milan enter the most important week of the season so far the club is expecting a positive performance first in the Champions League against Zenit St Petersburg and then in the highly passionate derby against city rivals Inter. Adriano Galliani knows that these two matches could be turning point for the side."Let's concentrate on the game against Zenit, which is a delicate and difficult match. They are a good team and we have to try and get a good result. I was disappointed with the draw against Parma because we should have won the match, we didn't make the most of the chances created, but I did see an improvement in terms of the way we played. This is a good team and we must finish inside the top three places so we have to start making a comeback."The Milan managing director is delighted to see that Stephan El Shaarawy is fulfilling his promise and is starting to score consistently. According to Galliani, the young striker is a special kind of player."You cannot really compare El Shaarawy to anyone else. I don't think we have ever had anyone like him at Milan, a counter attacking player like him at just 19 years old. I really insisted to bring him to Milan. He caught my eye when he was at Padova and now he has less competiton here and he can play regularly as either an out-and-out striker or as a wide attacker. Let's hope that Ferguson continues to like El Shaarawy but we cannot sell him. We have just renewed his contract until 2017 so there is no need to worry."The team just needs a bit more time to gel together and for injured players to return to full fitness in order to be highly competetive. For Galliani, it is just a matter of time."We need to be patient with the team. This is a new Milan, a young Milan. We have less world class players than in the past and we have to be a little more patient than before. Boateng is still struggling because of the plaster cast on his hand."Massimiliano Allgeri has the backing of the club as long as the results arrive and that progress is made as the season goas on."Massimiliano Allgeri has our backing. Obviously if a coach loses ten games in a row then he risks getting the sack but that goes for any coach. The coach is in charge of the team and can choose how to play and what formation to choose but I personally like to play with two holding midfielders. The only star performance in the Champions League against Real Madrid in Madrid came when we had two holding midfielders. But I am not a coach."Finally Adriano Galliani spoke about the poor ticket sales this season and for the derby against Inter and sent out a message to the fans."I want to reach out to the fans and ask them to come to the stadium on Sunday and make the San Siro a wonder to behold. For the last two years Milan have been ahead of Inter but football is all about cycles."

MILAN - The German referee Brych will be in charge of Milan's game against Zenit St Petersburg on Wednesday evening. Kick off is at 6pm Italian time.

MILAN - As usual, Massimiliano Allegri has called up 22 players for the trip to Russia against Zenit St Peterburg on Wednesday evening.Below is the list of the squad: Abbiati, Amelia, Gabriel, Abate, Antonini, Bonera, De Sciglio, Mexes, Yepes, Zapata, Ambrosini, Boateng, Constant, De Jong, Emanuelson, Flamini, Montolivo, Nocerino, Bojan, El Shaarawy, Pazzini, Robinho.

MILAN - Milan left for St Petersburg today. The players will have an extra day to get used to the time difference and settle down before their match on Wednesday. The squad conducted a training session this morning at Milanello before making their way to the airport in the early afternoon.

Filippo Inzaghi suffered his first defeat as coach. His Allievi Nazionali were beaten by Atalanta but the former striker still had words of praise for his players after the match:"I am very happy with the performance of the team. Even our opponents congratulated us. I am disappointed with the result and for the lads who played very well. We dominated the game and maybe there were a couple of penalties. It would be correct to lose when you play badly, not like today. This will help us grow and Sunday we have Padova which is another big match. I was curious to see Atalanta today as they had yet to concede a goal but we showed that we can match the top of the table. These are the kind of games that you only lose one out of one hundred. Today it happened. No matter, it means we will win a match we don't seserve to win. The lads are on the right path."

This week is the most important 7 days for Massimiliano Allegri and his players since the start of the season. Success in the Champions League and then over Inter in the Milan Derby on Sunday evening would put the rossoneri right back on track in both the league and in Europe after a slow start to the season.The rossoneri return to European action on Wednesday against Luciano Spaletti's Zenit St Petersburg after picked up a draw in the opening game of Group C at the San Siro against Anderlecht.Three points in Russia would go a long way to making up for the disappointing draw against the Belgian side two weeks ago and would also put the rossoneri in the driving seat in their group.Zenit drew 1-1 against Lokomotiv Moscow in the last round of the Russian league and are currently lying equal 6th with Rubin Kazan.Zenit lost their Champions League opening game 3-0 against Malaga away from home. Last season the Rissian side were knocked out in the last 16 against Benfica after qualifying  for the knockout stages by finishing second behind APOEL Nicosia and ahead of Porto and Shaktar Donetsk.There are no precedents between the two teams but Milan have faced Russian teams three times in the past. The only precedent in the Champions League was against Lokomotiv Moscow on 25 February 2003. After a 1-0 win at the San Siro, Milan got the same result away from home with a goal from Rivaldo.Qualifying from the group stages is paramount for Max Allegri and his players but both will also have one eye on the super Sunday evening clash against city rivals Inter, who lead the rossoneri by five points in the Serie A table. As always the derby is a special match that is very difficult to predict and often it acts as a catalyst in turning around the fortunes of either club, for good or bad.  It will be the last act before the international break interrupts the championship for a week and Allegri will expect his players to pull out all the stops in what could be a real turning point for the season. 

MILAN – It hasn't been the easiest of starts to Milan's season but there are two teenagers that are bringing a smile to the rossoneri fans. Despite the draw against Parma there were some encouraging signs for Allegri on the pitch.Stephan El Shaarawy broke his duck against Udinese a week ago and hasn't stopped scoring since. The 19-year-old finally seems to be comfortable with the responsability that comes with leading the Milan frontline and is beginning to fill the shoes left by Ibrahimovic. Stephan is the only player, along with Abbiati, to have started every game for Milan this season and he continues to go from strength to strength. Bought for 15million euro, 'The Pharaoh' is currently top scorer for the side with four goals in three games and if he were to continue scoring with such consistency he would finish the season with 25 goals. Overall he has four goals in six Serie A matches, one every 116 minutes. The forward, who turns 20 on October 27th, has got off to a better start to the season than even the legendary Ibra managed in his two seasons at the club.There is no doubt that El Shaarawy is the new leader of this new-look Milan and hopefully also the heir of past greats. Another extremely positive note comes from the ever improving Matteo De Sciglio. Now a firm fixture in the starting line-up, the 19-year-old continues to produce some scintillating performances and Saturday's match against Parma was no exception. De Sciglio is following in a rich tradition of Milan unearthing top-class full-backs and like the legendary Paolo Maldini he has gone straight through the ranks and into the first team.His inclusion this season, along with that of El Shaarawy, has helped bring the average age of the side down to 26.31 years and they both represent not just the present but also the future of the club.Click here to go to the Milan store