Brighton Head Coach, Roberto De Zerbi has iterated that his team “deserved to win” in their 1-0 victory against Manchester United.
Having lost to Man Utd on penalties in a tough FA Cup semi-final exit almost a fortnight ago, Brighton hit back with a 99th minute penalty winner from Alexis Mac Allister after Luke Shaw was caught by VAR blocking a shot with his hand.
Mac Allister’s late winner consequently lifted Brighton to sixth and put the Seagulls eight points behind Utd with two games in hand against Newcastle and Manchester City to come, compared to the Red Devils’ single game in hand at home to Chelsea.
“We deserved to win today and in the semi-final,” commented De Zerbi as he proceeded to praise his team for their performance, as he continued: “We played well and had a lot of chances but the clean sheet was also important.”
Moises Caicedo meanwhile was deployed as right-back after Pascal Gross missed out with a muscle injury, although the German is set to return against Everton on Bank Holiday Monday 8 May with Caicedo expected to move back into his midfield role.
Explaining the decision behind putting Caicedo at right-back whilst retaining Billy Gilmour in midfield following a “fantastic” mauling of Wolves last weekend, De Zerbi said: “We have reached a level with the right players in the right positions and I didn’t want to change.
“Caicedo is a top, top player who can play anywhere and [Billy] Gilmour deserved to play after his performance against Wolverhampton, he was fantastic. They both showed their quality.”
De Zerbi also confirmed that striker, Evan Ferguson is set to return against Sean Dyche’s Everton after missing their last four games due to an ankle injury, although the Irish forward has unsuccessfully pushed for a return in Brighton’s last two games.
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