Napoli coach Rafa Benitez says his side had plenty of chances to restore parity against Milan on Sunday.
The Partenopei were again guilty of defensive mistakes as their impressive 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an abrupt end against Filippo Inzaghi's men.
"We could have equalised but all in all we lacked belief," Benitez said.
"The game didn't start well but after Menez's goal we had chances to equalise and we deserved to restore parity.
"We are amongst those teams which have more shots on target yet we fail to score the same number of goals as last season.
"Milan possess quality players, we struggled at the start of the game but we then managed to win the ball back on a number of occasions, getting close on the counter.
"We made a mistake in respect to our movement when they took the lead because the midfielders didn't cover Menez's run."
Asked if the defeat will affect his side's chances of finishing in the top three, Benitez said: "There are many teams in a few points.
"It will be a long race, our objective is to focus on our job, to improve. If this team does what they are capable of then all we can do is improve."
