Pato brace puts AC Milan in the driving seat in the battle for the Scudetto

If the Rossoneri do go on to win the Scudetto this year, one thing is certain: no one will say the feat was attributable primarily to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Swede who happens to have won seven consecutive league titles in the last seven years. Brazilians Pato and Robinho have added pace and clinical finishing ability to the Milan attack, and nowhere was this more apparent than in Saturday's derby against Inter Milan. Pato, above all, showed why he deserves a place amongst the top 10 strikers in the world by demonstrating immaculate composure and positional awareness to score the first two goals for AC Milan that sent them well on their way to victory over Inter. In the first minute, Robinho ended up parrying the ball to Pato after failing to get around the keeper. Pato, in the number 7 jersey, made no mistake in burying the ball in the back of the net. In the 62nd minute, Pato got away from his markers once again and headed in a cross from substitute Flamini to give AC Milan a virtually unsurmountable lead, particularly given the red card that had been awarded to Inter's Chivu in the 53rd minute. Antonio Cassano sealed a 3-0 victory from the penalty spot in the dying minutes but it was Pato, complemented by threatening plays from Robinho that settled the victory for Massimiliano Allegri's team to give them a stranglehold on the 2010-2011 Scudetto.