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MILAN – Here’s what Adriano Galliani had to say to Radio Sportiva:
“The Berlusconi talisman works.  I spoke with the President and I asked him to come back on Saturday and he accepted. It seems we should have called him up for pre-season then we’d be challenging for the title. I was saying to Allegri that before the loss to Fiorentina we had got 7 points from three games and we’ve now done that again. We’re in better shape and we’re playing with more determination. We’re doing well.”

CATANIA-MILAN: All the post match interviews from players and management.

MILAN - Here's what players and management had to say after this evening's win in Sicily. ADRIANO GALLIANI"I called President Berlusconi and told him to move into the Milanello sports centre as every time he comes we get a result. He's been called up for the day before the match against Torino. We're very happy. It's a shame to have started the season with such a handicap but bit by bit everyone will see that this is a competitive team with a young man up front who's scoring more goals that Ibrahimovic! The glass is definitely half full. Boateng scored a great goal. He's been working hard for weeks. He's been playing with a determination for the past 4 or 5 games that maybe he didn't have at the start of the season. We have a lot of points on the table considering how we started the season but it's still a small number considering the value of this side."
KEVIN PRINCE BOATENG"I'm happy that the goal has finally come. Last year I scored a lot but this year despite a lot of shots, I hadn't scored before tonight. I don't think it was a sending off but I can't change it. We're playing well, competitive and aggressive. Maybe sometimes we lack a bit of quality as we're young but the win over Juventus lifted us up. We're still alive."STEPHAN EL SHAARAWY"We were all able to do more after Barrientos was sent off. Lots of space opened up. These are three really important points even if I'm never happy and I could have scored a third goal. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the double and the team's win. We started well but they scored on the first corner. In the second half, the sending off made things easier. We made a lot of chances and did well even though we didn't finish them off. It's a special time for me. It's never happened before and I hope it lasts as long as possible. Our objective now is just to climb the league table."PHILIPPE MEXES"The win was fundamental this evening, we showed the character to get the equalizer and then we were lucky with the red card. In the changing room we said that we had to give more. the President has to keep coming to see us, he's brings luck. We've moved up in the league but for a club like Milan, our position a month ago was unacceptable."ANTONIO NOCERINO"Barrientos caught me badly and he was already booked but regardless of the sending off, it was the attitude that made the difference. We should have been more cynical though and that's something we'll have to work on, I'm fine, I'm in good shape. I finished the game and I'm not tired. I know what I'm worth, everyone knows what I can give to the team. Continuity will make the difference and I'm finding that. I was close to scoring in the last game when I wasn't given the penalty. Sooner or later he goal will come. I just need the right desire and when it comes, the joy will be explosive. Boateng's goal was wanted. I'm very happy for him just as I was for Mexes after the criticism. The results are proving us right. We were never a lost cause and now we're getting positive results. I've won my personal derby with Catania. It was important to me after three years in Palermo where I left my heart."FRANCESCO ACERBI"We played a good game but they scored with their first chance. the sending off changed the game. We had a load of chances and we should have scored earlier. But the important thing here was t win in a difficult stadium and get the three points. I'm happy for the coach who gave me the chance to take to the pitch and I always look to try my best. now the league table looks different. Credit to the team for how we played, we won on a tough pitch."MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI (Press Conference)"At the start it was all us then they did well to get the goal from the corner and they played aggressive after that. Borrientos being sent off changed the game. We did well in possession and created a lot of chances. Catania did well when it was 11 against 11. We're a team that has been completely changed. players left who made history with this club. We were a lot younger than the other team here tonight and you need time for the team to grow. It's the first time we won two in a row and now we have a good position in the league, we'll see where we are in February. We knew Catania would do well. they played good games against Lazio and Juventus and we knew Lodi hits a good free kick. We should score earlier in games. Coming back from behind is a good sign, it means that physically the team is in good shape. We always play better in the second half than in the first. El Shaarawy is moving fast even if he still has to grow. I knew that the team would face difficulties. the players who arrived late in the summer needed time to settle in. I'm disappointed about the loss against Fiorentina, otherwise we would have 9 results on the trot. We're improving and getting better in the kind of situations that penalized us in the past."

CATANIA-MILAN: The photos from this evening's win in Sicily.

MILAN - After a tough first half, Milan made sure of the points in the second in the Massimino stadium in Catania this evening. Milan have now taken 7 points from their last three matches in Serie A. Allegri put out the same side as the one that beat Juventus with Acerbi in for the suspended Yepes. Milan started well with Boateng brought a save out of Andujar with a shot from the edge of the area. With their first attacking movement however, the home side took the lead. A corner on 11' and Legrotagglie gave his side the lead. The rest of the half was well balanced with Boateng coming close for the Rossoneri and De Sciglio making an important saving tackle on 35' on Castro.
No changes made to either side in the interval but the game changed quickly. On 3' Barrientos picked up his second booking and left his side with 10 men n the pitch. On 8', Milan took advantage. De Sciglio crossed from the right and Robinho pushed it on for El Shaarawy to score his 11th league goal this season.  3 minutes later and Boateng got the ball past Andujar with a right footed shot. It's his first goal of the seaosn and put his team in the driving seat and for the rest of the game it was one way traffic. Nocerino could have had a penalty and El Shaarawy might have done better against Andujar on 22'. On 34' Nocerino set up a chance for Robinho and the Brazilian should have done better. Emanuelson hit the post on 44' and El Shaarawy finally made it three after Boateng got his marching orders. A right footed pearl from the league's top scorer. Mission accomplished in Catania.THE NUMBERSCATANIA-MILAN 1-3GOALS: Legrottaglie (C) 11'f.h., El Shaarawy (M) 8' and 47', Boateng (M) 11's.h.CATANIA (4-3-3): Andujar; Alvarez, Legrottaglie, Rolin, Marchese; Almiron (27's.h. Bellusci), Lodi, Salifu (27's.h. Paglialunga); Castro, Bergessio (32's.h. Doukara), Barrientos. Subs: Frison, Terracciano, Addamo, Augustyn, Barisic, Morimoto. Coach: MaranMILAN (4-3-3): Amelia; De Sciglio, Mexes, Acerbi, Constant; Montolivo (21's.h. Emanuelson), De Jong, Nocerino; Robinho (48's.h. Ambrosini), Boateng, El Shaarawy. Subs: Gabriel, Narduzzo, Zapata, Strasser, Flamini, Niang, Pazzini, Bojan. ACoachll: AllegriREFEREE: Orsato NOTES: Sent off: Barrientos 3's.h. Boateng 45's.h.. Booked: Bellusci, Rolin, El Shaarawy, Amelia. Corners: 3-4

CATANIA - Here below are the official line-ups for the game at the Massimino stadium:
MILAN: Amelia, De Sciglio, Mexes, Acerbi, Constant, Montolivo, De Jong, Nocerino, Robinho, Boateng, El Shaarawy.CATANIA: Andujar, Alvarez, Legrottaglie, Rolin, Marchese, Salifu, Lodi, Almiron, Castro, Bergessio, Barrientos.

CATANIA - Milan came back from a goal down to win 3-1 against Catania thanks to El Shaarawy's double and a goal from Boateng, who was sent off in the 90th minute. Legrottaglie had scored the opener for the home side who haed been down to 10 men since the beginning of the restart following to Barrientos second yellow card.

MILAN – The final Champions League Group Stage game for Milan is on Tuesday 4 December at the San Siro. Zenit St Petersburg are the adversary and a place for them in the Europa League is what’s up for grabs. Allegri’s players have already qualified for the knock out stages but Europe’s top football competition always offers the best of entertainment. The first leg ended 3-2 for the Rossoneri with goals from Emanuelson and El Shaaarwy as well as an o.g. by Hubocan.
That was the only match the two clubs have played each other in while the Rossoneri have played Russian clubs on three other occasions. On 7 March 1973, Milan beat Spartak Moscow in their match on Russian soil in a match played in Sofia. On 10 December 1975, the same team beat the Rossoneri in the UEFA cup 2-0 even though Milan had already won the first leg 4-0. The only precedent in the Champions League is 25 February 2003 against Lokomotiv Moscow. After a 1-0 win at the San Siro, a Rivaldo penalty gave the team the same result in Russia.
Malaga are on 11 points in Group C followed by Milan on 8 who cannot win the game due to the results between the two in the group stages. Anderlecht and Zenit are both on 4 points and are playing for third position in the group which would lead to Europa League qualification.

MILAN - Filippo Inzaghi received the Ghirlanda d’Onore from the Federazione internazionale del Cinema e della Televisione sportiva. The club legend spoke at the margins of the event and said: “I’m happy about El Shaarawy’s explosion. Now comes the tough part as everyone expects a lot from him.”

MILAN - Nigel De Jong celebrates his first birthday as a Milan player today. The midfielder turns 28. Best wishes from everyone at the club.
 

MILAN - Milan waiting under Sicilian skies at the hotel. Some stretching this morning at 11.00 ahead of the match this evening at 20.45.
Ahead of lunch at 13.00, Stephan El Shaarawy wanted to greet the fans and sign some autographs. The fans had been at the hotel’s entrance.
And so this evening, Catania-Milan: the precedents at the Massmino stadium number 15 with 2 wins for the home side and 6 for the Rossoneri with 7 draws. 13 goals have been scored by the Sicilians compared to 23 for Milan.
Here’s a look back:13 MAY 2007: CATANIA-MILAN 1-1 (Seedorf) Played in Bologna26 FEBRUARY 2008: CATANIA-MILAN 1-1 (Pato)03 MAY 2009: CATANIA-MILAN 0-2 (Inzaghi, Kakà)29 NOVEMBER 2009: CATANIA-MILAN 0-2 (2 Huntelaar)29 JANUARY 2011: CATANIA – MILAN 0-2 (Robinho, Ibrahimovic)31 MARCH 2012: CATANIA-MILAN 1-1 (Robinho)

(IN THE PHOTO: Alfredo Bellavia and the children of Caltagirone parish with Marco Amelia)MILAN – Marco Ambrosini and Marco Amelia this morning from the Parco Degli’Aragonese hotel in Catania presented the Madonna della Via di Caltagirone parish with a plaque in recognition of their service in a town of 39,000 inhabitants in Catania.
Representing the parsih was Alfredo Bellavia, head of the parish Catalgirone sports centre which sports include football at the under 7, 12 and 14 level as well as theatric activites, dancing and music courses.
The parish patron Vincenzo Guarino is frequented by about 300 children from 8 to 15 years old and are trained by the centre’s volunteers.

MILAN - Here's the 20 man squd for Catania-Milan called up by Rolando Maran:
Andujar, Frison, Terracciano, Alvarez, Augustyn, Bellusci, Legrottaglie, Marchese, Rolín, Addamo, Almiron, Barrientos, Castro, Lodi, Paglialunga, Salifu, Barisic, Bergessio,Doukara, Morimoto.

MILAN - The team's flight to Sicily has taken off from Malpensa Airport and is scheduled to land at 17.40.

(IN THE PHOTO: Massimiliano Allegri during the press conference)
MILANELLO – Here’s what Massimilano Allegri said to the gathered journalists ant the Milanello sports centre today:
"Tomorrow’s match will be tough as we’ll be up against a team that has won almost all of their league points playing at home. They come into the game on the back of a derby loss so the atmosphere that we’ll be going into is not an one. It’s a fundamental game for the league.
In the last week, we won in Belgium, we played a good match in Naples and we played well against Juventus. Tomorrow’s game is worth as much in the league. We have to have respect and not underestimate anyone. We have to play with intensity and competitiveness.
There are 20 days to go until Christmas and we have to concentrate on what we have to do: get through to the next round in the Italian cup and pick up as many points as possible.
The presence of President Berlusconi is always important at Milanello. I spoke with him about the team and the games that we have to play.We’re playing no more or less than we have done in the past two years.
Mexes is fine and he’ll start. I have to choose between Zapata and Acerbi.”They’re all fine, even Emanuelson who was a bit tired after all the games he has played and Bojan has got some of his speed back. In terms of the line-up, I have some doubts and I have to make some choices.
It’s not a question of turning things around. My concepts of what is right for the team haven’t changed. We needed a bit of time to get started and do something good and we had to change our attitude. We’ve done nothing yet but the players are growing. They are all improving. I don’t want to say that the worst is behind us and everything that we’ve been through should be a reminder. We still need time. By February we’ll be in a better place and our league position will have changed.
Pato is training at the moment and he’s an important player, a part of the club and we need to be patient with him as he’s not a player we want to lose.There’s no point in talking about last season, Sunday was a good game. Montolivo has grown a lot. With calm and professionalism, he’s got to a good level but I never doubted that he would. He has the quality to be a leader in this team and he can still grow more.
Abbiati has a back problem and we’ll see day by day when he’ll be back. Catania are a point behind us, we have two away games and we need points. We have to come back from ctania with points.
It’s good that El Shaarawy believes in the title as it’s mathematically possible. The teams still believes and we’re only in November, we’ll try and get back on track and we’ll see in may where we are. We should be a lot higher in February.
I think that Juventus have two points more than this time last year, they’re doing great things, just as Napoli and Inter are. There’s some bitterness about dropped points but that the way it went. There’s still space to get some satisfaction for ourselves so it’s good to still believe and keep on going.Robinho in the last two years has played the most since I joined the club. He has quality and personality and the game against Juventus should be a starting point for him.
For the game against Zenit, Abate should be available. Antonini has a good chance as well. We’ll see about Pato. Mesbah will play on Saturday with the Primavera."

MILANELLO - President Silvio Berlusconi has left the Milanello sports centre after having had lunch with the technical staff and spoken to the players.

MILANELLO - The team has left the Milanello sports centre on their way to Malpensa airport. the flight to Sicily is expected to land around 17.40.

MILAN - Here's what Massimilano Allegri had to say to the gathered journalists at the Milanello sports centre this afternoon.
 

MILAN – Here’s what Catania coach Rolando Maran had to say during his press conference: “Milan have found their best form recently. We’ll be up against a team that are much better than their league positions shows. They’ve found rhythm and balance. We’ll have to show the correct team spirit the way we always have. We have to show hunger and get back on track after a game that left a bitter taste in our mouth.” 

MILAN - At the end of training this morning, Massimiliano Allegri read out the list of the 21 players who will travel to Sicily.
Amelia, Gabriel, Narduzzo, Acerbi, De Sciglio, Mexes, Zapata, Ambrosini, Boateng, Constant, De Jong, Emanuelson, Flamini, Montolivo, Nocerino, Strasser, Bojan, El Shaarawy, Niang, Pazzini, Robinho.

MILANELLO - President Silvio Berlusconi has arrived by helicopter at the Milanello sports centre.

MILAN - Daniele Orsato has refereed Milan on 14 occasions with a record of 6 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses for the Rossoneri. He has been in charge of 10 Catania matches with a record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.
Orsato has more than 100 game's experince in Serie A.
 

MILAN - Here are the designated referees for this weekend's Serie A action:
BOLOGNA-ATALANTA: GiannoccaroCATANIA-MILAN (Tomorrow): OrsatoFIORENTINA-SAMPDORIA: ValeriGENOA-CHIEVO: TagliaventoINTER-PALERMO: BergonziJUVENTUS-TORINO (Saturday): RocchiLAZIO-PARMA: GuidaNAPOLI-PESCARA: PeruzzoSIENA-ROMA: MazzoleniUDINESE-CAGLIARI: Tommasi

MILAN - Daniele Orsato will referee Catania-Milan on Friday evening. He'll be assisted by Passeri and Rosi with Damato and Velotto behind the goals and Barbirati as fourth man.