Diego Lopez had a shaky debut in goal as Milan were beaten 2-1 by Valencia with costly defensive errors.
Diego Lopez had a shaky debut in goal as Milan were beaten 2-1 by Valencia with costly defensive errors.
Ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez was given his debut at the Mestalla, but Mario Balotelli, Nigel de Jong and M’Baye Niang were sidelined. Adil Rami was left behind after receiving threats from fans of his former club.
Paco Alcacer broke the deadlock early on by pouncing on a disastrous Cristian Zapata backpass and immediately placing the lob over Diego Lopez from midfield.
Keisuke Honda has stuttered since arriving in January from CSKA Moscow, but scored a magnificent equaliser when his free kick curled over the wall and ricocheted in off the inside of the near post.
A Diego Lopez fumble almost gifted the hosts a second, but Zapata was there to clean up. More very poor defending allowed Valencia to restore their advantage, as Rodrigo skipped through two white shirts and his shot squirmed between the near post and a hesitant Diego Lopez.
Stephan El Shaarawy thought he’d scored with the last kick of the first half, but his effort was desperately charged down from six yards.
Andre Gomes fired straight at Diego Lopez and Feghouli was off balance to turn wide on the counter. Pablo Armero came on for his Rossoneri debut.
Jeremy Menez drilled wide from a very promising position, while substitute goalkeeper Rodriguez needed a stunning fingertip save to keep out a Michael Essien header from six yards.
De Paul curled just over the bar in the final stages for Valencia.
Valencia 2-1 Milan
Scorers: Alcacer 18 (V), Honda 28 (M), Rodrigo 38 (V)
Valencia: Diego Alves (Rodriguez 58); Vezo (Mustafi 58), Barragan, Otamendi, Gaya (Orban 58); Piatti (De Paul 53), Javi Fuego, Parejo (Ibanez 81), Andre Gomes (Guardado 81); Rodrigo (Gil 81), Paco Alcacer (Feghouli 53)
Milan: Diego Lopez; Abate (Mexes 81), Bonera, Zapata (Alex 60), Albertazzi (Armero 70); Poli (Mastalli 81), Cristante, Muntari (Essien 70); Honda, Pazzini (Menez 60), El Shaarawy