Roberto De Zerbi admits Brighton will battle to qualify for Europe in the event that they repeat the defensive lapses which price them two factors in an exhilarating 3-3 Premier League draw with Brentford.
Dominant Albion loved 73 per cent possession and registered 33 makes an attempt at purpose on a breathless afternoon on the Amex Stadium however required a Ninetieth-minute penalty from Alexis Mac Allister to keep away from a dangerous defeat.
Errors on the again meant the Seagulls had been pressured to return from behind 3 times in opposition to considered one of their rivals for continental qualification.
Head coach De Zerbi rued the errors however couldn’t fault the general endeavour of his resilient aspect.
“It’s a great point for us because sometimes football can be cruel,” mentioned the Italian.
“We showed character, we showed passion, we played a fantastic game. It was only one team on the pitch, I think.
“We concede three goals in an incredible way. We want to improve in this situation because if we concede three goals like this, we can’t achieve our target.
“It’s bad because we deserved to achieve our target.
“We are playing in a fantastic way. I’m really pleased for the players and for this I am sorry for the result because we lost two points in a bad way.”
A pulsating south-coast contest moved either side above Liverpool of their respective quests for European soccer, with Brighton sixth and Brentford a spot under on purpose distinction.
Albion started within the ascendancy however twice switched off in a frantic opening half hour as Pontus Jansson headed house early on earlier than England striker Ivan Toney claimed his seventeenth league purpose of the season inside a minute of Kaoru Mitoma’s lobbed equaliser.
Danny Welbeck nodded within the hosts’ second leveller, just for Ethan Pinnock to flee a static Seagulls backline to poke the Bees again in entrance early within the second half.
Brighton, who managed 21 efforts at purpose in a 2-0 defeat at Brentford in October, appeared set for additional frustration earlier than VAR noticed Aaron Hickey’s late handball and Argentina World Cup winner Mac Allister coolly transformed from 12 yards.
De Zerbi feels it is going to be troublesome for the Seagulls to supply a greater attacking show.
“I can say nothing to my players for the performance,” he mentioned. “The performance was fantastic, one of the best performances in my time.
“We have to improve for sure but it’s difficult because if you win today you can say nothing and I have to be honest and say it’s difficult to play better than today.
“Brentford are a good team but today Brighton deserve to win.”
Despite the late drama, Brentford boss Thomas Frank had no complaints in regards to the end result.
The Dane was disenchanted by the way of Brighton’s first two targets however refused accountable right-back Hickey for dealing with Deniz Undav’s late effort.
“When you’re leading three times, you always want more, especially when you’re leading until the 90th minute, it’s always tougher to take,” he mentioned.
“I think it’s a game where Brighton did well, I also think we did well.
“It’s a good point today. Effort? Fantastic, spotless. Body on the line? Spotless. Determination? Spotless. But a few structural things that we are normally doing better, especially for the first two goals.”
Speaking of Hickey and the penalty incident, he mentioned: “For the handball, I said ‘don’t worry’. I think that’s such a random situation.
“That’s an unfortunate part of the randomness in football. It’s the first one (Mitoma’s goal) that he needs to learn from.”