Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi expressed his regrets following his team’s 4-0 loss to AS Roma in the Europa League Round of 16. Speaking on Italian television, De Zerbi admitted that Roma outclassed his Brighton and Hove Albion side at the Stadio Olimpico.
“We did our best in terms of effort, but in terms of football quality it was 20-25-30 per cent of our potential,” De Zerbi told Sky Sport Italia. “It was in a certain sense to be expected, because we are not accustomed to playing these games, whereas Roma are and we saw a difference in pace, calm, self-belief, and experience of this knockout fixture.”
Goals from Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku, Gianluca Mancini, and Bryan Cristante sealed the rout for Roma, leaving Brighton with a significant challenge to overturn the deficit in the second leg in England.
De Zerbi emphasized the need for improvement, stating, “It is a rude awakening, we were all hoping for a different match, a different result and also a different quality of football. The thing that irritates us the most is that we were unable to express ourselves.”
Injuries and Fixture Congestion Pose Challenges for Brighton
De Zerbi highlighted the challenges his team faced due to injuries and fixture congestion, stating, “The real problem is that we struggle to play three games a week with 15-16 players available. Finding the energy to play 90 minutes in the Premier League, then another 90 in the Europa League. If you don’t have the ability to rotate the squad, you are running on empty.”
Brighton, who were playing in UEFA competition for the first time, topped their group to reach the Round of 16 but have been hampered by injuries in recent weeks. Players such as Joao Pedro, Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March, James Milner, and Jack Hinshelwood were unavailable for the match against Roma, further complicating matters for De Zerbi’s side. Despite the setback, Brighton remains determined to bounce back in the return leg.
