Allegri hails Ibra impact

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his hat-trick inspired the team to a 4-0 win at Palermo. The striker scored a 14-minute hat-trick on his return from a three-game suspension as I Rossoneri moved three points clear of Juventus at the top of Serie A. "Ibra is doing great things," Allegri said on the club's website. "He's in a rich vein of form. The three-match ban did him good. "I think the win was deserved. We stopped them from playing for long periods and it's all thanks to the players. They played a great game. "This is an important stage of the season. We're getting closer and closer to our goals and, if we're not to let them slip away, we'll have to continue to play with high concentration levels and most of all play well." Ibrahimovic added: "I'm very happy. After three matches out, the game went very well both for me and for the team. We're playing at our best at the moment with a lot of confidence. We're playing the way we want to and we're always dangerous up front."