Paulo Fonseca insists Milan ‘played positive football’ against Napoli, but failed to convert their chances and made ‘errors’ to concede the two goals. ‘We controlled the match.’

The Portuguese tactician made a brave stand by dropping Rafael Leao for the second game in a row, especially risky considering Christian Pulisic was only fit for the bench with flu symptoms.

In addition, Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez were suspended, with Matteo Gabbia, Tammy Abraham, Luka Jovic, Alessandro Florenzi and Ismael Bennacer injured.

The gamble did not pay off, as Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia secured the 2-0 victory for Napoli at San Siro, Alvaro Morata’s goal chalked offside as the best opportunity.

“I am always responsible for what happens on the pitch and I take that on. We always have mistakes in all the goals that are avoidable and obviously it is not easy when you concede a Napoli goal after five minutes,” Fonseca told DAZN.

“If you look at the game overall, they scored the goals, but we controlled the match otherwise. We reacted well to that bad start, played very positive football with quality, created lots of scoring opportunities and that is not easy against a Napoli side that defends near its own penalty area.”

Milan have a game in hand, as Saturday’s trip to Bologna was called off due to severe weather warnings in the Stadio Dall’Ara area.

Nonetheless, they are already languishing 11 points adrift of the leaders and are seven points worse off than they were at this stage last season.

They won five, lost five and drew two in all competition this season, so is Fonseca still aiming for the Scudetto?

“I cannot say otherwise. Seeing how the team reacted, created and stayed united even without important players available. I do not remember a single team that won or lost the title after nine rounds,” insisted Fonseca.

“I see the team growing and we will get the results to get back into this fight.”

The Rossoneri are struggling to finish off their opportunities and team moves, so what are they missing in the final third to move decent performances into good ones?

“I am above all concerned because we conceded goals that we should not have allowed to a team like Napoli. It is not easy when you have 10 players parked in front of their penalty area, but we created those chances and all we missed was to convert them,” concluded Fonseca.

“It is true we need to work on the final choices in front of goal, because we dominated the possession, kept Napoli pegged back into their own half, but we had four or five opportunities and did not convert them.

Conte was asked what makes him most proud about the team at this stage of the process.

“What makes me proud is that in just four months we have been able to create a solid unit where we think about the Team and not the Individual. This is one of the best groups I’ve had in my career, when everyone has a single vision and a unity of intent, including those in charge of the club to the kit staff and gardeners, it all creates a wonderful atmosphere.

“I breathe in that passion and enthusiasm, so when I get that situation, it brings the passion out in me too. I suffer too, because I would want to win them all, so I feel the anxiety. We had only one training session to prepare on Monday, because we played Saturday and rested on Sunday.

“I thank the staff and players, because I am well aware that I stress them out and am demanding of them as much as I am of myself. The passion at Napoli is a huge responsibility and I realise the days after the game are tough if you don’t win, it’s an emotional place where the mood can shift quickly.

“I am glad the team is doing well, but we must also be prepared for when there are setbacks and slip-ups. We really want to make the Napoli fans proud of their team and I think today they saw that desire throughout the squad, even those who only played a few minutes

“I am enthusiastic about working with this group, because they are open and believe in what we are doing.”

It was pointed out to Conte that perhaps the only club where he struggled to deliver was at Tottenham Hotspur, though he assured that was a coup of its own sort.

“I realise there are expectations, but if you go where there are difficulties. I think Tottenham did incredibly well, because they were ninth when I arrived and we got into the Champions League. The two years after I left, which was for personal reasons, they did not qualify for the Champions League.

“I think I achieved a lot there too. If people ask me for miracles, then I can speed them up and get the best out of the squad, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can win. I think I got the maximum possible out of that Tottenham side.

“For Napoli to win the title would be incredible, because we gave ourselves a three-year window. Napoli won two years ago, but Milan won three years ago and Juventus four. The difference is that those teams finished in the top four afterwards and we finished 10th, losing many players. Miracles can happen, we can speed up the process, but the process still needs to be gone through.

If we were to achieve our target of Europe, that would already be something special, so we’ve got to stay humble.”

Lukaku found the net this evening and confirmed his remarkable form when working with Conte.