AC Milan coach Max Allegri defended his selection of Alexandre Pato for defeat to Fiorentina.

Allegri was criticised for picking Pato in the starting XI, especially after the Brazilian ballooned a penalty over the bar.

"Pato had done well on Tuesday, so I thought he would grow and improve by playing more. The problem is that our style of football needs us to run at full speed and playing every three days we can't do that.

"Sometimes we have to play badly and try to get a result anyway. We ought to avoid the slips in concentration.

"It's a shame about the results, as we could've gone up to sixth place today and did not manage it."