Stramaccioni bemoans ´unfair´ loss to Udinese

Andrea Stramaccioni believes Inter’s 3-0 defeat to Udinese on Sunday was an unfair reflection of his side’s performance.

A brace from Antonio Di Natale and a goal from Luis Muriel saw the Nerazzurri begin 2013 in disastrous fashion.

But they were left furious by the performance of referee Antonio Giannoccaro, who sent off defender Juan Jesus and booked Rodrigo Palacio for diving.

“We had a good first half, but the 3-0 result is unfair and does not reflect the real game,” Stramaccioni told reporters after the game.

“Up until the Juan Jesus red card, it was a totally different match. We certainly aren’t fortunate when it comes to refereeing decisions, as once again today there was an incident.

“Palacio is a very fair player and he should not have been booked for simulation. Maurizio Domizzi put his hand on his neck and unbalanced him, so for me that is a penalty and a red card.

“I don’t think the referees have anything against Inter, but you have got to give a penalty like that. I’d say Inter were excellent for 65 minutes, but Jonathan wasted an incredible chance and then Udinese ran away with it.”

Udinese counterpart Francesco Guidolin was delighted with the victory, and labelled Di Natale’s performance as ‘fantastic’.

“It was a vibrant game and in my view whoever took advantage of their positive moment would come out on top,” Guidolin said.

“These are two teams who play in fits and starts, so they can be extremely dangerous at any moment. Up until Di Natale’s goal, Inter had more chances, but they didn’t take them.

“In football these incidents are decisive and Di Natale was fantastic when scoring the opener. It is very satisfying to win this match, as the team worked well. Now we get closer to our objective.

“Was the red card decisive? We were already in the lead by that point and had turned the balance of the tie in our favour. I think the real key to the win was Di Natale’s first goal.”

Inter lie in fourth place on the Serie A table, nine points behind leaders Juventus having played one game more, while Udinese are eighth with 27 points.