The Rossoneri slumped to 11th place after losing the 14th point in eight games, which left them ten points behind leaders and bitter rivals Inter Milan.

"It hurts that we have fallen behind the leaders, but that doesn’t mean that we are a side in crisis," Maldini was quoted by Calcio Italia.

"We just have to stay calm. When we returned to the dressing room there was a strange silence until Vice-President Adriano Galliani comforted us."

The 39-year-old veteran played his first game of the season, following a lengthy layoff due to a knee injury, but he was unable to prevent a shocking defeat.

Milan will host Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk in the Group D match on Wednesday, hoping to make amends for their 2-1 defeat at Celtic two weeks ago.