AC Milan's grip on a top-two Serie A spot slipped away on Monday night, as a narrow 1-0 defeat to Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona saw the Partenopei leapfrog them into second place. The result tightens the title race, now seemingly between Inter and Napoli, though Inter maintains a commanding seven-point lead.

Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic offered a frank assessment post-match, pinpointing a lack of tempo as a key issue. "We wanted to take three points here and get closer to Inter, but things didn’t go well," Pavlovic admitted. "From the beginning, we played slowly and without many chances. In the end, we didn’t have a good position on the goal, and they scored."

The loss marks a shift in momentum, with Milan dropping out of the automatic top two for the first time since November. When asked if the team is now looking over its shoulder in the battle for Champions League qualification, Pavlovic remained focused on the Rossoneri's own path. "We lost second place, but we are still on the way to reaching our goals," he stated. "We don’t need to look at what other teams are doing; we just need to be focused on ourselves, to win next week and take three points at home."

Pavlovic, known for his defensive solidity, has increasingly become an attacking threat for Milan this season. Reflecting on the team's offensive output, he highlighted the need for sharper decision-making in the final third. "We should create even more chances; we didn’t create a lot in the last few games," he noted. "When we have opportunities to score, we need to move much faster and be more focused. I had one situation too today where I didn’t know whether to shoot or pass, and I missed that moment."

With the Serie A season entering its final stretch, Milan must rediscover their urgency and clinical edge quickly to secure their objectives and finish the campaign strongly.