AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has lavished praise on Mathieu Flamini for his performances while playing out of position.

The French midfielder has been playing as a right-back for the past few weeks and the quality of his play while in the unfamiliar position has attracted the eye of his coach.

Speaking to Milan Channel after the 3-0 victory over Palermo Ancelotti remarked "Even today Flamini was surprising, he did a lot defensively and formed once again a good partnership with [David] Beckham.

"He has the impulse and is doing very well. Having placed him in this role was a necessity, I had never thought about it before. He had a period of acclimatization and then he improved in the long run".

Such words will be welcomed by Flamini who has endured a less-than-stellar first half of the season.

Ancelotti also praised veteran defender Giuseppe Favalli who has been doing extremely well as a central defender.

"Even Favalli did very well, the central duo is very reliable, many laughed due to the age of our players, but Maldini and Favalli's professionalism is great."

Milan's victory over Palermo at the weekend coupled with Juventus' inability to beat Reggina means Milan are now two points clear of the Old Lady in second place.