Stefano Pioli lauded Milan's "heart, intensity, passion and belief" after they beat Benevento 2-0 to return to the Serie A summit despite playing for nearly an hour with 10 men.
Franck Kessie's penalty gave the visitors a first-half lead at Stadio Ciro Vigorito but Sandro Tonali's dismissal before the break left the Rossoneri up against it.
An inventive finish from Rafael Leao gave Milan a much-needed two-goal cushion early in the second half, with Gianluca Caprari missing a spot-kick at the other end for the wasteful hosts.
The win marked a fine response to Inter's 6-2 thrashing of Crotone earlier on Sunday, which had temporarily dislodged Milan from top spot.
But with his side now leading the way by a point, Pioli was full of praise.
"We showed heart, intensity, passion and belief. It's another very big victory," he told Sky Sport Italia.
"We don't let the results of our opponents put pressure on us. We put pressure on ourselves by demanding the best.
"There were a few errors, but we showed such unity to bring the result home.
"Every result is important to boost the self-belief."
Tonali was shown a red card after a careless lunge on Artur Ionita, with referee Fabrizio Pasqua upgrading his punishment from a yellow after reviewing the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
"I hugged Sandro in the locker room, he was sad about leaving the team down to 10 men," said Pioli.
"The issue with VAR is that things look much worse when slowed down compared to the dynamics of the movement, but Sandro will learn from this."
Next up for Milan is the visit of champions Juventus, though Pioli insists the result will not be pivotal in the title race.
"I think it'll be a great game between two teams in excellent shape," he said.
"I continue to say Juventus, Inter and Napoli are the strongest sides in Serie A, we just have to keep going along our path.
"It's not decisive or the passing on of any baton. Juve won the last nine titles and aren't far behind us at the moment.
"I continue to maintain we can talk about other things when we look at the table in April and if we are still in this position. Our strength has been to take it one game at a time, so we don't want to change that attitude.
"We are missing some important players, Tonali will be suspended, so it's going to be tough against Juventus. Whatever happens, it won't be decisive."
'Cristiano is perfect' - Martinez plays down early Ronaldo substitution
Roberto Martinez took Cristiano Ronaldo off just after the hour mark against Poland but assured he was only managing the 39-year-old's minutes.
Ronaldo was on target for Portugal in their 3-1 win over Poland, doubling their tally after Bernardo Silva's opener.
Piotr Zielinski provided the Selecao with a late scare, but Jan Bednarek's own goal ensured Portugal kept their 100% record, and they are the only team to win all three games so far in League A.
The Portugal captain was replaced by Diogo Jota, who had a hand in their third goal, in the 63rd minute, having had three shots and accumulating 1.43 expected goals (xG).
And Martinez insisted Ronaldo would have a part to play against Scotland as he praised the team's resilience to get the win over the line.
"It's part of managing players when you have two games in 72 hours. Diogo Jota came on very well. Cristiano is perfect," Martinez said.
"The first half was very good. We controlled the game, created opportunities, had very good synchronisation as a team, defended Poland's strengths very well and scored great goals.
"I'm happy with the new players who came in, it seems they have several international caps.
"Conceding a goal was a difficult moment, and it was great to see the reaction and score another goal. Overall, a very good performance.
"The challenge is two away games. 72 hours, recovering well. The players showed all their commitment during training and work at the Football City."
Martinez was also impressed by debutant Renato Veiga, who started alongside Ruben Dias at centre-back.
The Chelsea defender made seven clearances, the most of any player on the team, and helped limit Robert Lewandowski to just two shots, neither of which were on target.
"He has a very special profile. In his first training session, he showed that he gained maturity during the September training camp," Martinez added.
"He is an aggressive player, with great communication skills, who can defend large spaces, play in the air, against a Poland side that is very strong in set pieces.
"It was a fantastic debut. With a striker like Lewandowski, I think it is a debut that shows Renato's potential and how he is working at the moment."
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
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