Milan's uphill race for Europe

It is six years since AC Milan last finished outside of Italy's top four but right now the Rossoneri face a fight to extend that statistic by another season. After yesterday's 0-0 draw at US Città di Palermo, Milan find themselves sixth in the Italian standings, three points behind fourth-placed S.S. Lazio.

Started badly
Neighbours FC Internazionale Milano are already over the horizon, fully 30 points away, but Carlo Ancelotti's side are at least showing signs of being back on the right track. Docked eight points for their part in the sporting fraud tribunal that struck Italian football last year, the squad's morale dipped even further during a disappointing run of just two wins in 13 Serie A games between October and December. "We started the season badly," playmaker Kaká told the Gazzetta dello Sport prior to the visit to Palermo, where his missed penalty cost Milan all three points.

Kaká goals
It was perhaps fitting the responsibility should rest with Kaká, whose spot-kick was stopped by Palermo goalkeeper Alberto Fontana, given his increased importance as a source of goals this term. Since Andriy Shevchenko's departure for Chelsea FC, Milan's attack has lost some of its cutting edge and this has certainly been apparent in the UEFA Champions League where their forwards have amassed just two goals between them.

Self-belief lacking
Indeed, with five strikes already in the competition, Kaká was almost single-handedly responsible for the home and away victories over RSC Anderlecht that carried Milan out of the group stage. Although Ronaldo's January arrival has boosted Milan's firepower, he is ineligible for Europe and last week Alberto Gilardino looked short on self-belief during the 0-0 draw at Celtic FC in the first knockout round, twice failing to take advantage of one-on-one situations.

Reassuring
Despite four clean sheets in seven UEFA Champions League outings, there have also been questions asked of Milan's back line. Tellingly, after shipping three goals at AC Siena, coach Carlo Ancelotti took no chances in the subsequent away matches at Celtic and Palermo, switching from 4-4-2 to 4-4-1-1 with Kaká operating as a second striker. Against this backdrop, it must be reassuring for Ancelotti that he can call on one of the strongest and most experienced midfields in European football.

Hard for Nakamura
With the FIFA World Cup-winning, silk-and-steel combination of Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso lining up alongside Massimo Ambrosini and young Frenchman Yoann Gourcuff in Glasgow, Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura admitted he struggled to find room to work his magic. "It was hard for me to find the space to pick passes as they had a line of four midfielders blocking the way. It was really difficult," the Japanese international told uefa.com.

Unlock defences
Of course, at San Siro next week Milan must take the initiative, yet even in the first leg, despite having only 43 per cent of the possession, the Italian team had twice as many shots on goal as their opponents. Given the defence-unlocking capabilities of Kaká and Pirlo and the return of Clarence Seedorf from injury, the Rossoneri will fancy their chances of reaching a fifth successive quarter-final. Milan might be more optimistic were Ronaldo available, yet a run of five wins in seven Serie A outings in 2007 still augurs well. The domestic championship may be heading to Inter but as Kaká, who has himself rediscovered his best form recently, noted: "Teams often end up winning the Champions League without having had a good season."