Missed opportunity frustrates Stramaccioni

Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni has hit out after a 1-0 defeat to Parma ended i Nerazzurri's hopes of closing the gap on Juventus to just one point. AC Milan gave city rivals Inter a huge incentive when they beat Juventus 1-0 at the San Siro on Sunday. However Inter failed to capitalise, suffering their fourth league defeat of the season to collect just one point from their last three games in all competitions to drop to fourth place. Stramaccioni, at 36 the youngest coach in Serie A, said: "We now have only one point from our last three games. We're not happy." Inter laboured through an opening period in which Parma's French striker Jonathan Biabiany proved a threat throughout. But after the interval Inter offered little resistance when Nicola Sansone went on a 40-metre run to beat Samir Handanovic for the only goal of the night. Stramaccioni told www.inter.it: "We tried to take the game to a Parma team that was set out well, and Biabiany was a bit of a handful, but we didn't start badly. However, the second half was one of the worst we've played." He added: "Our biggest regret is the goal we conceded. It was a bad mistake and we paid a heavy price for it. We were caught napping. It's not as if Sansone dribbled past our players, the team just opened up for him." Inter are also involved in the UEFA Europa League but a second string side lost 3-0 to Rubin Kazan last week. Stramaccioni hinted that both domestic and European commitments may now be taking a toll. "I can't deny we've been unlucky with injuries recently but I don't want to make excuses. We've faded, we weren't able to produce enough intensity in our game," he said. Napoli's 1-0 win over Cagliari pushed them up to second, ahead of third-placed Fiorentina, however veteran Inter defender Javier Zanetti said it was early doors yet. "We're sorry because we've suffered another defeat but we're still near the top," he said. "I don't think many would have bet at the start of the year that we'd be in the top three at this stage. We need to find the same balance that allowed us to go on a great winning run and get another one going immediately."