Palermo leave Milan standing
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Article summary
Giuseppe Papadopulo's first game in charge of US Città di Palermo ended with a first defeat of AC Milan in 26 years and a place in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Article body
US Città di Palermo knocked AC Milan out of the Coppa Italia with a remarkable 3-0 win in the second leg of their quarter-final tie - the Sicilian side's first victory over the Rossoneri in 26 years.
Milan humbled
Palermo coach Giuseppe Papadopulo began his reign at the Stadio Renzo Barbera in the best possible way as Argentinian midfielder Mariano González opened the scoring after just ten minutes with a spectacular strike from 20 metres. He then set up Andrea Caracciolo to double the home side's lead eight minutes later before scoring again shortly after the restart to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Papadopulo praise
Given that Milan trail Juventus by 12 points in Serie A, the UEFA Champions League now represents their only realistic chance of silverware this season. Papadopulo, meanwhile, said of the victory: "There is no secret. The players put their hearts into it and these great fans did the rest. I'm delighted because the team did what I asked them to. I couldn't have asked for a better performance."
