Brighton Manager Roberto de Zerbi Praises Team’s “Courage” After Triumph Over Manchester United
Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi has praised his team’s “courage” after their latest triumph over Manchester United, despite the huge disparity in income between the two clubs. Brighton’s starting line-up cost less than £20m in total, while United spent more than £300m on theirs.
The match saw former United striker Danny Welbeck score a first-half opener, followed up by second-half efforts from Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro. De Zerbi was full of praise for his team’s performance, noting that their style of play was key to their success.
“We are used to working in our style,” he said. “We are playing with courage. We defended at Old Trafford man-to-man all the time. We kept the ball in every situation. We played the centre-back with the full-back and two in central midfield. We are building our season in this way.”
Brighton are now fourth in the Premier League and make their European bow against Greek side AEK Athens in the Europa League on Thursday. De Zerbi believes that while Brighton may not be a “big, big team”, their quality of players is very high and that this result is not a surprise.
“Football is nice because the small team can win in every moment,” he said. “But while I think Brighton is not becoming a big, big team, [winning here] is not a surprise – the quality of the Brighton players is very high.”
The Seagulls’ success is a testament to their hard work and determination, as well as the skill of their players. Despite being up against a much wealthier opponent, Brighton were able to come out on top thanks to their courage and tactical nous. It is a result that will no doubt give them confidence going into their upcoming Europa League match against AEK Athens.
It is also a reminder that money does not always guarantee success, and that teams with smaller budgets can still compete with the best if they have the right attitude and approach. Brighton have certainly proven that they have what it takes to compete at the highest level, and with de Zerbi at the helm they could be set for even more success in the future.