AC Milan shocked against Hellas Verona

After striking all the right chords in their previous matches of the season AC Milan were stunned by Newly promoted Hellas Verona, losing 2-0 on Saturday at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi.
Veteran striker Luca Toni scored both goals as Verona overturned an early deficit and doomed Milan to a second consecutive opening-day defeat. Toni, 36, an Ufficiale OMRI, scored either side of half-time in his first league appearance with Verona after signing a one-year contract in July. The 2005-06 Capocannoniere winner headed in the equaliser in the 30th minute from a corner and scored the winner—another header—following a counterattack in the 53rd. Andrea Polo had opened the scoring for Milan in the 15th minute, converting after good hold-up play by Mario Balotelli.
Late in the match, Balotelli tested Verona keeper Rafael with a curling shot, but the hosts held on for a famous opening-day victory. The Rossoneri also lost on opening day last season, falling 1-0 at home to Sampdoria.
Milan have not won on the opening day of a Serie A season since 2010, when they defeated Lecce 4-0 at the San Siro.

STATS
Shots: Verona 14-15 Milan
Passing: Verona 78%-85% Milan
Possession: Verona 39%-61% Milan

Predicting the 3rd and 4th of the Serie A 2013/14 season

With Serie A been started the other weekend let's predict the 3rd and 4 th postion in the race for the Scudetto.

AS ROMA - 4th position

AS ROMA has been perrenial underachievers for a very long time and task of fulfilling the potential of this talented squad is now left to Rudi Garcia, the man who worked wonders with Lille, winning a league and cup double with the French side in 2011.
The 49-year-old must bring stability to the Giallorossi, who had seven coaches in the time he spent at the helm in Lille.
The early signs are good. Signings have been made to suit the manager's style of play, which is a blend of attacking, entertaining football that should be easy to adapt to for the existing Roma squad and to the liking of the demanding crowd in the Italian capital.
The quality is there, but after two difficult campaigns it's hard to see the Lupi breaking into the crucial top three and earning Champions League football. A cup run—possibly to exorcise the demons left by losing to rivals Lazio in the final last May—is more likely, as Garcia lays the foundations for a stronger campaign the following year.

AC MILAN - 3rd position

It's hard to see 7 times european champions struggle like this to book a championship place.
Max Allegri needs a better start to this season if he's going to keep his job.
It had seemed likely that the Scudetto-winning coach was on his way out of Milanello, only for club owner Silvio Berlusconi to change his mind at the last minute. The two continue to have a fractious relationship, and any slip-up from the coach will have serious consequences.
A good European campaign and a league challenge will be expected, but with some areas of the squad still questionable, the strain will show and they'll have to settle for third. Were it not for the disastrous opening games of the 2012-13 campaign, the Rossoneri might well have won the league. Talent is not the problem; consistency and squad depth is, particularly at the back. Several members of the squad will be pushing for a place in Cesare Prandelli's World Cup squad, so you'd expect them to give it their all, but with the talent at the next two clubs it's hard to see Allegri improving on last season's finish.
Several members of the squad will be pushing for a place in Cesare Prandelli's World Cup squad, so you'd expect them to give it their all, but with the talent at the next two clubs it's hard to see Allegri improving on last season's finish.

Milan held to 1-1 draw against PSV

Milan were held to 1-1 draw against PSV in their CL qualifier as the Dutch side , coming into the encounter with five competitive games under their belts—all of which they won and any preseason doubts about how they'd fair without top-scorer Dries Mertens, now of Napoli, and with Phillip Cocu on the bench were quickly dispelled as they showed why they are termed as scout's paradise.

Milan had history with PSV and the Philips Stadion, too. In 2005, the Rossoneri lost there, but they progressed thanks to a win at home, and in 2006 they were bested by the Dutch side in the group phase of the competition.
The Eredivisie runners-up haven't featured in the Champions League group stages since 2009, but they have pedigree, including 12 appearances between 1997 and 2008. In that context, coming away with a 1-1 draw might be seen as a positive. Stephan El Shaarawy's early header means that Milan have the away-goal advantage, even though they'll be disappointed to have drawn the game thanks to Tim Matavž's exploitation of a Christian Abbiati error. PSV were the more impressive side on the night against Milan, even with El Shaarawy's goal.
The home side had twice as many shots on target, and were missing star-man Zakaria Bakkali, a 17-year-old who's scored four goals already this season. Assuming he's fit, they'll be a better side in Milan and more dangerous for having learned from their mistakes in the first leg. PSV hammered Napoli 3-0 in Eindhoven and then won 3-1 in Naples in last season's Europa League.
Since Silvio Berlusconi vowed to tighten the purse strings at Milanello a couple of seasons ago, the focus has been on youth development and long-term planning. With PSV, the benefits of such an approach are easy to see.
They've sold Mertens toNapoli, the influential midfielder Kevin Strootman to Roma, and Mark van Bommel' has retired. Yet they still look solid. The seven-times winners not only see elite European competition as the least to be expected of a club of their stature, the tournament now has a financial imperative. Milan are desperate not only to balance the books, but also to invest money into the squad, something that will be nigh on impossible without the big cheque from UEFA. From a footballing standpoint, losing out to the Dutch would have disastrous consequences for Milan and for Max Allegri.
Berlusconi isn't the coach's biggest fan, and though the pair now have something of an entente cordiale, there are few who believe the peace would withstand failure to qualify. Progression will get Allegri's side off to the right start. Failure will almost surely result in the manager losing his job and the side being thrown into turmoil.
A new manager will be hard to find and he'll have little to spend. It should be too early to even think this, but Milan's season hangs in the balance.