Milan striker Alexandre Pato hailed a “great” display by his side as the Rossoneri beat Napoli 3-0 late Monday to go five points clear at the top of the table.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the first goal from a debatable penalty before Pato set up Kevin Prince Boateng. Pato then added his team’s third as Milan stormed to their third straight win in Serie A.

“We have taken a great victory,” Pato said.

“We have taken three very important points. We played a great second half and we got the win we wanted. I really enjoy playing in this team that is full of great champions. For me, they are not only team-mates but brothers.”

Milan are now five points ahead of Inter but Pato does not see his team as title favourites just yet.

“There are still many games left to play so there is still a long way to go for the Scudetto,” he said.

“The important thing is that we are a united side. We are taking it one game at a time and now we must focus on our next game against Juventus.”

The game’s opening goal came from a rather controversial decision by referee Gianluca Rocchi who harshly penalised Salvatore Aronica for a handball inside the area early in the second half.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said he believed from his viewing point that Rocchi had called it correctly.

“Seen from the sidelines it was a penalty,” he said.

“But independent of that, Milan produced a good performance, and deserved the victory. We really played very well, (Christian) Abbiati didn’t have to make a save and we created several chances.

“The thing that really pleased me was that the team was looking to make it 2-0, and even 3-0.

“The five-point lead is a tidy advantage, but there are still a lot of matches to go, including the derby with Inter, and Napoli cannot be discounted yet.”