MILAN _ David Beckham began his second stint with AC Milan on Wednesday night, playing 76 minutes and positioned at forward rather than his usual midfield during his team’s 5-2 victory over Genoa in the Italian league.

The English star lined up on the right side of an attacking trio with Marco Borriello and Ronaldinho. He came close to scoring in the first half, his long shot hitting the side netting.

Beckham, on loan from Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, is looking to sharpen his game leading to the World Cup in South Africa.

In the third minute, Beckham crossed to Borriello, but Genoa’s Marco Amelia pushed away the shot from close range shot.

Milan won behind penalty kicks from Ronaldinho and Klaas Jan Huntelaar, two goals by Borriello and another by Thiago Silva. Giuseppe Sculli and David Suazo scored for Genoa.

AC Milan (10-3-4) moved into second place in Serie A with 34 points, eight behind Inter (13-2-3), which won 1-0 at Chievo Verona on Mario Balotelli’s 12th-minute goal.