Serie A: AC Milan 3 Napoli 0

AC Milan stamped their authority on the Serie A title race with a resounding 3-0 win over Napoli on Monday.

A win for Walter Mazzarri’s side at the San Siro would have seen them draw level with Milan at the top of the table, but instead it was Massimiliano Allegri’s men who came away with an important result after second-half goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Alexandre Pato.Milan are now five points clear of second-placed city rivals Inter, while Napoli sit one point further back in third.It was a lacklustre opening in Milan with neither side able to create genuine chances as target men Ibrahimovic and Napoli’s Edinson Cavani were both well held.The best opportunity of the first half fell to Milan’s Mark van Bommel, who collected a deflected shot on the edge of the penalty area but saw his own effort blocked by defender Salvatore Aronica.

It took the hosts just four minutes after the interval to open the scoring, with Ibrahimovic netting from the penalty spot after a hand ball in the box by Aronica.Only the good work of Morgan De Sanctis kept the scoreline at 1-0 with the Napoli goalkeeper pulling off several excellent saves.But De Sanctis could do little to stop Boateng doubling Milan’s lead on 77 minutes, with the Ghana international finishing from close range after Pato’s cross.And it was Brazilian striker Pato who turned scorer just three minutes later, curling his shot over two retreating defenders and De Sanctis to wrap up the three points.