Nocerino arrived with Aquilani to Milan

There is no doubt who the man-of-the-match was against Parma. It was, of course, Antonio Nocerino.

Not a player known for his scoring ability, his hat-trick is in many ways more remarkable than that of Kevin Prince’s on Sunday, circumstances aside.

The former Juventus player was signed by the club at the eleventh hour of the summer’s transfer window and orginially only as cover for Mathieu Flamini, who is suffering from a long-term injury.

However, he is slowing making himself a key player in Max Allegri’s side and on current form Flamini has little chance of displacing him when he recovers.

Speaking of Nocerino after the match, Galliani explained how it all happened when the club signed him from Palermo.

“At one in the afternoon of the last day of the transfer window, someone came running into my office saying that Palermo were selling Nocerino.

“I found Zamparini as quickly as I could and made an offer. I started low to be honest. He said no but I waited all afternoon and then we called Nocerino who was with the Italian team and we reached an agreement. Then Palermo said yes to the sale. It was a real stroke of luck.”