He's Back in business

BECKS FIZZ ... David Beckham takes control of proceedings for AC Milan against Genoa

DAVID BECKHAM returned to Serie A last night in front of a watching Fabio Capello.

But if Becks does play for England in the World Cup, you can bet it will not be in a three-pronged strikeforce.

Beckham was given the curious position by Milan boss Leonardo as he made his first start on his second stint at the San Siro.

And while he put in a solid shift during a convincing win, the midfielder struggled to make the type of contribution he would have dreamed of.

He was on the pitch for 75 minutes before being replaced, yet he was cheered off by the fans and remains a likely starter for Milan's big match at Juventus this weekend.

And then there is Milan's Champions League clash with Becks' old club Manchester United looming on the horizon at the end of next month.

Having been back in northern Italy for little more than a week, Beckham might have expected to start his second spell at the club on the bench.

But with Alexandre Pato ruled out through injury, Becks started on the right-hand side of a front three, with Marco Borriello in the middle and Ronaldinho on the left.

Milan went into the game 11 points behind bitter rivals Inter as Jose Mourinho's men scraped a 1-0 win at Chievo earlier in the day.

While Genoa's fans were banned last night due to trouble on previous trips to the San Siro, the crowd was still extremely poor with the 85,700-capacity stadium about two-thirds empty.

Yet the home fans were on their feet after just a couple of minutes with Beckham the architect of a move which should have resulted in a goal.

The England star picked up a poor clearance from Genoa keeper Marco Amelia and shrugged off defender Domenico Criscito before crossing right-footed towards the edge of the six-yard box.

Milan striker Borriello only needed to get a decent connection and the ball would have been in the net. But instead, he tried a fancy flick and the lack of power on this effort enabled the keeper to scoop the ball away.

But the home side wasted an even better chance to take the lead moments later.

Ronaldinho was the culprit after delivering a joke of a penalty - a tame sidefooted effort aimed straight at keeper Amelia - after Milan skipper Massimo Ambrosini was deemed to have been clipped in the area.

Ambrosini then turned creator to hand Beckham his first chance to register a goal, but the former Manchester United star found himself at a difficult angle and his effort hit the side netting.

Beckham was struggling to adjust to a new position, although he was not the only one as Leonardo does not always use this 4-3-3 system.

Things got worse for the home team on 25 minutes when slack defending allowed Giuseppe Sculli to ghost in at the far post to put Genoa ahead.

Yet ref Daniele Orsato was was doing his best to keep Milan in the game as he awarded them yet another dodgy penalty.

This time, Ambrosini went flying after no contact from the keeper.

Again, Ronaldinho stepped up to take the penalty - and thankfully, the Brazilian delivered a far better effort into the bottom left-hand corner.

Beckham then shot wide with another effort while he then lost possession in a good area when he should have attempted a shot with his less-favoured left foot.

And as Milan played with more belief and Genoa looked more wobbly, Thiago Silva cashed in on some comedy defending to put the home team 2-1 up before the break.

The goal was the signal for Milan to step on the gass in the second period.

Borriello tapped in the third and then scored the fourth with a spectacular bicycle kick.

Ref Orsato then completed a hat-trick of his own by awarding this third strange spot-kick of the night after after Ronaldinho tumbled to the turf.

The Brazilian offered the kick of Beckham, the new-boy indicated Ronaldinho should take it - but amid the confusion Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar snatched the ball away from the pair of them and smacked it home.

Beckham's work for the night was done moments later when he was replaced by Marek Jankulovski and he went off to a standing ovation and the Milan fans chanting his name.

Genoa striker Suazo pulled a goal back in the dying minutes and seven goals made it an entertaining match.

It was hardly top-notch football - yet certainly a far better standard than anything Beckham will have come across in Major League Soccer during 2009.

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