Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has called for his team-mates to be more clinical after their 1-0 defeat at Everton on Monday.
United skipper offers no excuses after opening weekend defeat
Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has called for his team-mates to be more clinical after their 1-0 defeat at Everton on Monday.
Marouane Fellaini's second-half header separated the sides despite United enjoying long periods of possession late on.
Vidic accepts it was always likely to be a difficult game against a physical side but was disappointed that the Red Devils could not take their chances.
"We knew it would be a hard game," Vidic told
MUTV.
"They did what they're best at - playing long balls and focusing on set-pieces.
"They had a few chances and in the end deserved to score, but we're never happy when we concede from a set-piece.
"We had some possession but we weren't clinical. When you go away from home you expect the home side to have some chances, but we need to be more clinical."
No excuses
Fellaini's aerial threat proved a real problem for a United defence that included Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick.
It was Carrick who was outmuscled for Everton's goal but Vidic does not want to make excuses.
"When you come to places like Everton who will play long balls into the box you need big, strong defenders, but we won't use injuries as an excuse," added the 30-year-old defender.
"I thought the players who came in gave their best and hopefully we'll have a couple of defenders ready for the next game.
"Towards the end of the game Everton looked a bit tired and I believed, even up until the last minute, we would score because we had some good possession and they sat back a bit.
"Unfortunately we just couldn't get the goal.
"It wasn't a great game but we're already looking forward to the next one. We've lost our first match in the past and finished well so hopefully we can win our next game and go on a long run."
