Pioli remains optimistic despite AC Milan's narrow defeat to Juventus

Pioli's side lost 1-0 at San Siro after former Milan player Manuel Locatelli scored via a deflected shot in the second half.

"It was not the result we wanted but we played well with 11 men, we played well with 10 men and were at no point inferior to Juventus so I feel we could’ve got the result," Pioli told DAZN.

"It's also true that we allowed Juve barely any chances, so with a little more intensity I feel we could have taken home a very important result even down to 10 men."

The match turned five minutes before the break when defender Malick Thiaw was sent off for a last-man foul on Moise Kean.

"On the red card, it was a naive error, both individually and by the team. Thiaw should have stalled rather than chase him (Kean) down. At the same time, Thiaw was unlucky when he slipped, but he should have done better."

But Pioli shrugged off the loss, his side's second in the league this season after a 5-1 loss at Inter Milan in September.

"This defeat takes nothing off our confidence. We are not superficial in evaluating our performances," Pioli said.

"If we can recover from this the way we did after the derby with a run of victories, then we don’t mind," he added with a smile.

Milan next travel to Paris St Germain for a Champions League match on Wednesday before visiting Napoli next Sunday.