Stramaccioni laments Inter failings

16 December 2012 03:38

Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni rued his side's languid first-half display in their 1-0 Serie A defeat to Lazio in Serie A on Saturday.

Miroslav Klose's goal in the latter stages of the match separated the two outfits in the Italian capital, but while the Inter boss could only praise the German striker for his well-taken finish, he felt his players deserved more for their efforts.

"(Lazio) played better in the first half. They put us under pressure, even though we suffered little," the 36-year-old told reporters.

"During the second half, we gave a great performance. We deserved a goal, but this is football.

"Did we defend poorly for (Klose's) goal? We made a mistake in the first phase of play, but you just have to compliment him (for the finish)."

Stramaccioni's defensive critique was echoed by centre-back Andrea Ranocchia, who shouldered the blame for not sufficiently addressing Klose's winner but was unhappy with the conduct of hosts' stopper Michael Ciani.

"Could have we done more (to prevent Klose's goal)? He was my man so I take responsibility," he added. "It happened quickly and it did not give us time to react. It was still a great goal.

"Unfortunately, Ciani held me with both hands, and even before the corner had been taken, the referee had given him a talking-to.

"This is what happens in every football match. I wonder how the referee could not see it."

Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic believes his side deserved their victory despite briefly allowing Inter back into the match.

"We lost a bit of our organisation in those 15 minutes and were unbalanced a couple of times," Petkovic said.

"Don't forget we were playing against Inter, they can create you problems any time they find some space open.

"It happened only for 10 minutes, while we had the control of the game for the rest of the match and we had more chances to score than them at the end. I feel it was a fair result for us."