‘We Deserve To Win; Clear Minds Needed On Wednesday’ Says Brighton Coach Zerbi

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi felt his side deserved to win the game and set up a final with Manchester City in June.

“We deserved to win because we played better and we had more chances to score,” he said.

“We suffered in the middle of the second half but for the other part of the game we commanded the play, we played in the other half of the pitch.”

Asked what he said to Solly March, who missed in the shoot-out, De Zerbi said: “Not too many words. I told him I was a player and made a lot of mistakes in penalties and it isn’t a problem.

“He was one of the best players in terms of quality of performance on the pitch. I’m proud of him, especially today.”

De Zerbi knows Brighton must bounce back quickly if they are to finish in the top six of the Premier League.

“The players are focused on our target,” he said. “We are playing well, we deserve to achieve our target in the Europa League, but football can be cruel, can be not right, not fair, we have to be ready to fight, starting on Wednesday against Nottingham Forest.

“It will be a very tough game and I want the same team I watched today. I already spoke with my players, we have to close this day, this page, but we have to be proud of the performance, for the people who demand and for the players for the quality of play.

“I have a lot of confidence in my players. When we finish this season we have to speak with the club and know the plan to understand if we can improve the squad or not. We arrived without a lot of important players. I’m always positive, I love my players but we have to be stronger to fight and compete another year at this level of performance and results.

“You can grow better when you lose an important game because if you win, win, win it’s difficult to improve. Today we are very sad and disappointed, but we have to be focused on the Nottingham game and the last nine games.

“I’m lucky to have a lot of great players. I’m sad for them because they deserve another fantastic day, to play a final with Man City. They deserved to win and deserve more in football because they are fantastic players.

“It will be a bad night not only tonight because it was a dream for us. I spoke with the players now in the dressing room, I told them we have to have a clear mind to close this day and think only for the rest of the season. If we play on Wednesday with our heads at Wembley, we can’t win.”