AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid have collected 17 European titles between them, but their glorious records looked like ancient history at the weekend.
AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid have collected 17 European titles between them, but their glorious records looked like ancient history at the weekend.
Milan, seven-time European champions, slumped to second from bottom of Serie A after losing their second successive league game to pile the pressure on long-serving coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Even the silky skills of superstars Kaka, Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko were unable to prevent a 2-0 loss at Genoa as Milan recorded their worst start to a league season since 1986.
Giuseppe Sculli opened the scoring for Genoa Diego Milito adding an injury-time penalty to give the home side their first win against Milan on their own soil since 1983.
Milan are now second from bottom, propped up by Cagliari, who are also without a point.
After the match Milan general manager Adriano Galliani issued a warning to Ancelotti.
"He doesn't risk the sack, but he'd better stop losing," said Galliani.
Ancelotti, who has been at the helm for eight seasons but who failed to secure a spot in the Champions League, said he was confident he could solve the problems.
"We have time to fix things and I am certain that we will. This is my Milan," he said.
Lazio lead the way in Italy with a second win in two games secured with a 2-0 victory over Sampdoria with Mauro Zarate and Goran Pandev on target.
Atalanta also have a 100-percent record and are second following a 1-0 win at Bologna with Tiberio Guarente grabbing the only goal.
In Spain, Barcelona are sixth from bottom with just a point from two games following their 1-1 draw at home to Racing Santander, a result which marked their worst league start in 35 years.
Argentine winger Lionel Messi converted a 70th-minute penalty, but Jonathan Pereira equalised six minutes later to deny the hosts victory.
One point from six is a woeful start for coach Pep Guardiola who will expect better when Barcelona start their Champions League campaign on Tuesday with a home match against Sporting Lisbon.
"I can't criticise the players as I am very happy with their attitude," said Guardiola.
"Football is the only sport where you can win without having any real shots on goal. Our opponents (Numancia in the first game and Racing) have hardly threatened our goal but have still taken five points from us."
Espanyol, who won 1-0 at Recreativo, lead the way in Spain with a maximum six points from two games.
But Real Madrid, eight-time European champions, endured a rollercoaster ride before beating newly-promoted Numancia, who twice took the lead at the Bernabau, 4-3.
"The games after the international break are the most difficult," said Real coach Bernd Schuster.
"They (Numancia) were always going to cause trouble for us as they had two weeks to prepare for this match and had beaten Barcelona."
In France, seven-time champions Lyon lead by two points from Marseille after a fortunate 3-2 win over Nice.
Lyon needed a late penalty to secure the three points, but match referee Jean-Charles Cailleux admitted on Sunday he had blundered in the decision which allowed Karim Benzema to score in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Source:
http://sport.id.msn.com