Football
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Inter Milan boss Walter Mazzarri takes blame for Nemanja Vidic's poor form

Inter Milan coach Walter Mazzarri has taken responsibility for Nemanja Vidic's poor start to life in Serie A which continued in the 4-1 defeat at home to Cagliari on Sunday.

- Wilson: Everything goes wrong for Inter

The Nerazzurri went into the clash unbeaten but were thoroughly humbled by a side that had taken just one point from their opening four league matches.

Cagliari could even afford to miss a penalty while 3-1 ahead, with midfielder Andrea Cossu's spot kick saved by Samir Handanovic following Vidic's clumsy challenge on Marco Sau in the area.

It was the second time this season the defender has given away a penalty following his move from Manchester United in the summer, while he was also shown a red card on his debut for the club.

Playing for the third time in eight days on Sunday, Mazzarri conceded he may have been expecting too much from the 32-year-old.

"I perhaps also made a mistake with Vidic by playing him too much,'' he told Inter's official website. "I take responsibility for it. There are players that can't take three consecutive matches in this period. Is it physical or mental? A combination of the two.''

In an explosive first half, Dani Osvaldo cancelled out Sau's opener, before Inter completely imploded when captain Yuto Nagatomo was sent off for two bookable offences as Albin Ekdal scored a 15-minute hat trick.

The result left the Nerazzurri stunned and Mazzarri hopes lessons can be learned from the disappointing defeat.

"We're sorry for the fans, who are suffering as we are,'' he said. "I got a few decisions wrong regarding squad rotation and didn't look at how much energy we would expend, which is crucial in the modern game.

"When things go badly like that it all contributes to everything else going worse. A more experienced team that goes down to 10 men becomes compact and waits for the things to blow over. We'll all learn from this lesson. We don't need to discuss it too much.'' 

Inter face Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday, and club president Erick Thohir is hoping for a much-improved performance, according to director of sport Piero Ausilio.

"If you want to be a big club, you can't concede goals the way we did," Ausilio told the club's official website. "If you concede four goals like that, than it's not just a physical problem but also a psychological one. The president is as disappointed as we all are.

"He came down to the dressing room [after the match] and tried to give the team a positive message, and the president expects an immediate reaction, which means Thursday in the Europa League. Inter, a club who want to be big, have to react straight away. Cagliari is already behind us."

Meanwhile, Cagliari coach Zdenek Zeman believes there is still a place for his attack-minded style of football following Sunday's victory at the San Siro.

"I was always convinced that my team could play this kind of football," he is quoted as saying by ANSA. "We didn't manage it to begin with and everybody said we were going down after three games. Well, today was a perfect game and I can have no complaints.

"If you can win like this in Milan against Inter, who are a side who have ambitions of winning the league, then that must mean that this kind of football can still be played."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report

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