Soccer-Milan spared another dressing down in spite of derby loss

MILAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - AC Milan's players have been spared another dressing down by coach Sinisa Mihajlovic despite losing their derby 1-0 to Inter. Mihajlovic has made some surprisingly outspoken criticism of his team since replacing Filippo Inzaghi in the close season, however, the fiery Serb said he was satisfied with their performance in Sunday night's match. "I am not angry this time, the result is disappointing but the lads played well," Mihajlovic told reporters. "Tonight I found my team again. I can be happy when we lose and unhappy when we win, because if we keep playing like this then it'll be a success." "Playing in front of 70,000 people is different to playing against Empoli and I am happy to have seen the spirit again that I want," added Mihajlovic, who had lambasted his side two weeks ago after a narrow win over Empoli. Mihajlovic became Milan's fourth coach in less than two years when he was appointed to try and lift the side out of their rut. The seven-times European champions have failed to qualify for Europe in the last two seasons after finishing eighth and then tenth in Serie A. Inter also failed to qualify for Europe last season but have got off to a flying start this time and are the only team to have won their first three games. "Winning the derby in the third match of the season is important because teams haven't found their best form yet," said Inter coach Roberto Mancini. "This win should give us added belief in our ability and help us to work calmly but we know there's still a long way to go. It's our duty to aim for the very top because we're Inter." Mancini was also pleased with the performances of debutants Felipe Melo and Ivan Perisic. "Felipe Melo is a great player. I didn't know him until I had the chance to coach him. He's aggressive when he needs to be and I think he played an excellent game today," he said. "Perisic can play in any position but he only joined us three days ago and we'll need time to help him and the other new guys to settle into the side." (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)