The veteran hitman opened the scoring when he latched onto Marek Jankulovski's cross early on seven minutes.

After the interval, he completed his treble with two goalpoaching finishes.

David Beckham, who's going to remain at the San Siro until June, was deployed in a new position behind the forwards.

Third-placed Milan are now in the final automatic UEFA Champions League qualifying spot with 51 points, while Atalanta lie 10th with 36.