Fonseca says Milan still in Serie A title race
AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca was unwilling to rule his team out of title contention after its 2-0 home defeat to Serie A leader Napoli, which now leads it by 11 points.
While Milan has a game in hand over its victor, it's a considerable gap to bridge even having played just nine matches so far this season.
That is especially true when it has already lost three times, but Fonseca was not going to give up on the dream after being asked if it was still the objective after the match.
"I can't say the opposite, especially seeing how we played. How the team responded to a difficult moment and how it showed unity even without important players," he said.
Milan had to cope without key players including Theo Hermandez and Tijjani Reijnders against Napoli and its manager thinks it will improve.
"No team has won the league after nine games and none has lost it after nine games," Fonseca said.
"For this reason, we must continue on the path of growth. Clearly we will need results to enter this fight."
Fonseca accepted the blame for the defeat to Napoli, but did say that he was happy with how his team responded after Romelu Lukaku put the visitor in front after just five minutes.
"I'm always responsible for what happens on the pitch and once again I take this responsibility," he said. "It's not easy to start the game with a Napoli goal after five minutes, but if we look at the result, they scored two goals and we created the chances.
"The team had a good reaction at the beginning of the game, we played positive football with quality.
"It's not easy against a Napoli team that... defends in front of its penalty area."
