Pato came off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 triumph at Chievo this afternoon.

"Pato has been decisive today," Allegri said. "But he had been out of action for some time because of injury.

"This performance will help him regain a place in the team.

"He is only 21 and he was catapulted on to the world scene so it's normal that he can suffer a drop in form in a year that has not been particularly happy for him due to the injuries he has had."

The win allowed the Rossoneri to bounce back from Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Champions League last-16 first leg.

Moreover, it moved the leaders five points clear of city rivals Inter and six ahead of Napoli, who host Catania later today.

"We are very happy with the triumph," Allegri said. "It's not easy to win in Verona and the team has searched for the victory in the best possible way.

"I don't think by getting this win we have sent a strong message to our rivals.

"We simply know that in order to win the Scudetto we cannot think about what the others are doing.

"We just have to focus on ourselves and improve on our performances."

Allegri believes his team has plenty of room for improvement.

"We are lacking continuity in terms of killing the game off," he said.

"We have the quality to be able to control the game when we are ahead and we must find the strength to go in search of a second goal that allows you to play with more calmness at the end of a game."

Milan host Napoli next weekend before travelling to Turin to face Juventus on March 5.