AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca was unwilling to rule his team out of title contention following their 2-0 home defeat to Serie A leaders Napoli, who now lead them by 11 points, on Tuesday.

While Milan have a game in hand over their victors, it's a considerable gap to bridge even having played just nine matches so far this season.

That is especially true when they have 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," Fonseca told DAZN.

Milan had to cope without key players including Theo Hermandez and Tijjani Reijnders against Napoli and their manager thinks they they will improve,

"No team has won the league after nine games and none has lost it after nine games," he 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 visitors 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."