2:06PM BST 21 Aug 2012
Belgium striker Marouane Fellaini scored the only goal of the game in the 57th
minute to hand
But Vidic insisted his side could have got something out of the match, despite the hosts twice hitting the woodwork.
"We knew it would be a hard game," Vidic told United's in-house channel 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."
Phil Jagielka's clearance off the line from a Tom Cleverley shot was the
closest Sir Alex Ferguson's side – for whom Robin van Persie only played the
final 22 minutes – came to scoring, as
"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."
Ferguson was forced to play Michael Carrick – whom Fellaini climbed above to nod in the only goal of the game at Goodison Park – at centre-back because of injuries to Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans.
All four defenders are struggling to be fit for the match against
"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," he said. "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."
