Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic admitted his side got what they deserved from their Serie A opener at Fiorentina.
Fiorentina won 2-0 with the Rossoneri playing with just 10 men from the 36th minute after Brazilian defender Rodrigo Ely was sent off for a second yellow card.
Mihajlovic, guiding Milan in his first league game since replacing Filippo Inzaghi earlier this summer, told his club’s official website: “It was an even match for the first 35 minutes, with a goalscoring chance each, and then it was difficult with 10 men.
“They kept possession well and deserved to win. However, there is no need to panic and we must not bring ourselves down.
“We have our strengths and we will try and win our next match.
“I would have liked this match to have been 11 versus 11, but credit must also go to our opponents if we played the match with one man fewer.
“We will move on and try to improve.”
Milan are coming off two disappointing seasons when they finished in mid-table positions and have now started on the wrong foot.
“We didn’t pass the ball around enough, there were lots of errors and we weren’t purposeful enough,” the coach added.
Mihajlovic defended his decision to hand new signings Ely and Alessandro Romagnoli a starting place in defence.
Both players struggled against Fiorentina, with Ely sent off and Romagnoli giving away the penalty that led to Fiorentina’s second goal.
“If I choose Romagnoli and Ely, it is because they deserve it,” he said.
“I see them train every day. I don’t judge a player on one match alone. No one is happy about having lost.
“Football is only beautiful when you win matches. We know there is room for improvement and let’s keep on working to make sure we improve.”
Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa was thrilled with his team’s start to the new campaign.
Goals from Marcos Alonso and Josip Ilicic gave Sousa a dream debut in Italy’s top flight.
Sousa, who replaced Vincenzo Montella two months ago, told the Italian press: “This is a great start.
“We showed personality and put into practice all the work we have done this summer.
“This game proves my players have great determination to do well in the championship. Fio-rentina have a great identity and a winning mentality.”