AC Milan’s defeat combined with Inter Milan’s 2-1 victory at Torino means the Nerazzurri are nine points ahead with 11 games to play.
Juventus are now only one point behind Milan in third spot, having won 3-1 at Cagliari on Sunday.
“Inter have the momentum, they really started to step on the gas after their Champions League exclusion and it allowed them a full well to prepare for every game,” Pioli said.
“We are not looking ahead or over our shoulders, we just stay focused on our path.”
Milan had been leading the Scudetto race for the first-half of the season but have faded over the past two months with Pioli noting the impact of injuries.
“Try to imagine Inter without Lukaku, Lautaro or Sanchez, maybe Juventus without Ronaldo, Morata or Chiesa,” he said.
“We had more than half the season without Zlatan, while Rebic and Calhanoglu were also injured for long periods.
“We showed all week that this is not just a strong team, but a special one. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough tonight.
“We should’ve either been more courageous or sat back more, but tonight we tended to be somewhere in-between and were caught in no man’s land.”
Meanwhile, Inter assistant Cristian Stellini, who stepped in for the suspended Antonio Conte against Torino, was delighted with their hard-fought win.
“Victories like these are crucial, they are doubly important because certain games arent easy to play,” Stellini said.
“The three points up for grabs were also vital for Torino, who sat back and gave little away. You need to produce excellent pieces of play to break the deadlock in these matches.”