- Roberto de Zerbi credited his men for sticking to their style against Man United
- Brighton continued their excellent start to the season with a stylish victory
- Their manager admitted he feels ‘lucky’ to be part of their special journey
Roberto de Zerbi celebrated his Brighton players’ determination to stick to their expansive style after their 3-1 win over Manchester United.
Danny Welbeck, Pascal Gross, and Joao Pedro were on target for the Seagulls as they stunned United at Old Trafford and dominated the ball.
The result sent them into the top four and De Zerbi’s men were the puppet masters at the Theatre of Dreams, consigning their foes to a third defeat in five games.
‘We played a great, great game. We deserved to win, we played well. In the first 15, 20 minutes we suffered a lot because Man United played in a different way than we prepared for but after that we played a great game,’ De Zerbi told Sky Sports.
Roberto de Zerbi hailed his players for maintining their philosophy against Man United
Danny Welbeck opened the scoring after 20 minutes as Brighton started the day brightly
‘I think the game was changed when we kept the ball. In that moment their pressure was strong and to keep the ball helped us to control the game and then we have four attackers who are very fast and very good.
‘We have to keep our style when we are losing, [and] when we are winning. We can’t forget our DNA because the game can change and it’s bad when the result can change our style. We are working to not lose our characteristic, our quality and to score more goals. We scored three but had many chances to score again.’
The 44-year-old admitted he is feeling fortunate to be part of the ride at Tony Bloom’s Brighton, who broke into European football under his direction for the first time last season.
Pascal Gross doubled their lead as United slumped to a new low in front of their fans
Joao Pedro’s brilliant strike from outside the box added a third for Brighton as Man United goalkeeper Andre Onana (middle) was left scrambing
The sky appears to be the limit for a side who continually recruit with excellence and sweep opponents aside with flair.
De Zerbi said: ‘I must admit I feel I know I’m very lucky to be this coach for this team. it’s like I dream because I am enjoying it a lot, enjoying to watch my team playing, showing their quality. It’s an honour, I’m proud.
Looing ahead to next week’s Europa League clash against AEK Athens, he added: ‘Thursday will be a historic day for us, the fans, the club, the owner. We want to play and keep in our head the memory from that day.’
