Milan meet to discuss poor start

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti held a meeting with chief executive Adriano Galliani and club staff on Monday to discuss the Serie A side's poor start to the season.

Milan, who finished a disappointing fifth last season, were beaten 2-0 at Genoa on Sunday, having lost 2-1 at home to promoted Bologna on the opening day.

Galliani backed Ancelotti throughout their struggles last season and said after the Genoa defeat that he and club owner Silvio Berlusconi still had faith in the coach and had never discussed sacking him.

Ancelotti, who led Milan to Champions League glory in 2007, has been in charge since 2001.

"We've had a meeting between the club, the coaching team and the medical staff to assess the situation and to try to find the best solution," Ancelotti told reporters when leaving the club headquarters after two hours of talks.

"It went well," he added without elaborating.

The Rossoneri bought Ronaldinho from Barcelona in the close season and re-signed striker Andriy Shevchenko from Chelsea in a bid to reverse last season's woes.

However, an ageing backline and an often static midfield have continued to undermine their play, with several results in pre-season games also going against them.

They host FC Zurich in the UEFA Cup first round first leg on Thursday.