Palermo vs. AC Milan: Final score 2-2, Rossoneri fight back for a point

Somehow, three formation changes in a period of 52 minutes helped Massimiliano Allegri turn around a terrible result into a decent draw. The Rossoneri started with three at the back, but their eventual change to a 4-3-3 sparked their resurgence, as they fought from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Palermo.

A fairly dull first half ended with a bang, when Ignazio Abate gave away a penalty with a handball on the edge of the penalty area. Fabrizio Miccoli stepped up and buried the penalty to put Palermo 1-0 up at the break, which probably altered Allegri's plans significantly.

Milan started the match in a 3-5-2 formation and switched to a 3-4-3 at halftime, bringing on Urby Emmanuelson for Mathieu Flamini. It took two minutes for that setup to fail, as Franco Brienza finished off a nice move for Palermo just two minutes into the second half, putting his side ahead 2-0.

Allegri brought on Bojan Krkic for Alexandre Pato in a like-for-like change, but also changed formation in reaction. Gian Piero Gasperini, who has plenty of experience with making bad lineup decisions and facing scrutiny at a big Milan club, reacted to that by making a very suspect substitution of his own, bringing on Luigi Giorgi for Brienza. To that point, Brienza had been arguably Palermo's best player.

Riccardo Montolivo brought Milan back into the game in the 69th minute, turning in a Bojan cross to the far post with a half-volley that took a deflection before dribbling into the back of the net. Stephan El Shaarawy became the Rossoneri's hero in the 80th minute, scoring the equalizer after Palermo failed to clear a set piece.

While Milan's record is still far from acceptable for the club, a draw means that Allegri is likely to have a job through the weekend. Knowing Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini, the craziest president in world football, Gasperini might get fired for throwing away the lead in this match.