When Brazilian superstar Kaka parted ways with AC Milan to sign a six-year contract with Real Madrid this year, difficult times were surely on the agenda for the Serie A giants in the coming season.

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Coupled with the loss of now Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, Milan had suddenly begun a new chapter in their rich history which was filled with uncertainty.

Indeed, the Rossoneri's start to their Serie A campaign reflected the massive challenge that lay ahead for new manager Leonardo.

After finishing third in Italy last season, Milan would have had high hopes of ending rivals Internazionale's recent domination of the domestic league.

But as soon as Kaka put pen to paper on a 65 million euro deal with Madrid, it seemed Milan would pay an expensive price on the field for his departure.

The Rossoneri's early-round performances were below par for a club of their stature.

In a flat opening, Milan registered an away victory over Siena before succumbing to a 4-0 whitewash at the hands of great rivals Inter.

The next five weeks proved to be dire pickings for Leonardo's men as they registered only one win in a period which yielded three draws and a loss to Udinese.

Milan's flat results in the Serie A also affected their Champions League campaign, dropping three points at the San Siro, thanks to a woeful 1-0 loss against FC Zurich.

They seemed to finally hit rock bottom and the season looked like becoming one of the worst on record for a club that was the envy of many others just two years ago.

If anything positive was to come out of such a fall from grace, it was knowing that the only way was up for Leonardo's men.

And thankfully for the San Siro faithful, the past few matches have seen Milan head firmly in the right direction.

After posting a close 2-1 win over Roma to end a three-match winless streak in Italy, Milan travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu in Spain to face Real Madrid in the Champions League.

In a clash pitting two sides that have won 16 European titles between them, Milan emerged with a season-defining 3-2 victory that has now given them  a terrific chance of qualifying from the group stages.

The win away from home was all the sweeter for Milan, considering they managed to keep former team-mate Kaka relatively quite for most of the contest.

Key players Ronaldinho, Pirlo and Pato also managed to rise to the occasion when the club needed their biggest stars to perform on European football's grandest stage.

Pato in particular is starting to show signs of maturity, scoring two goals against Madrid in a performance which will only credit his imminent rise as one of world football's key players in the not-too-distant future.

Whilst Milan managed to consolidate their great victory in Madrid by defeating Chievo Verona 2-1 in Serie A, more work needs to be done if the Rossoneri are to truly put themselves back in the championship race.

Despite winning three matches in a row, which includes European competition, they still find themselves sixth on the Serie A ladder, seven points behind league leaders Inter.

They currently have six points out of a possible nine in the Champions League and probably need two more victories to ensure themselves of a place in the knockout stages.

No doubt the next few weeks will prove critical to Milan's chances of putting up a reasonable fight in both domestic and European competition.

But given they already had hit rock bottom, one believes the Rossoneri will continue their improved form and put themselves in the hunt for silverware, which looked improbable just a couple of weeks ago.