Brighton Head Coach, Fabian Hürzeler warned that his team “still have a lot of work to do” after friendly win over Villarreal.
Hürzeler made his first bow at home as Brighton manager in front of 11,527 spectators at the AMEX Stadium, as the Seagulls thrashed Villarreal 4-0 in their final pre-season friendly.
Joao Pedro put Brighton ahead in the 15th minute before Danny Welbeck scored either side of Yankuba Minteh’s 70th minute effort, as Brighton ended their pre-season unbeaten.
Addressing Pedro’s performance, Hürzeler believes that the Brazilian “can do special things,” this season and build upon his 20-goal tally of last season, with Pedro having not featured yet under the German prior to this match.
Hürzeler however warned that the whole team must step up if Pedro is to deliver his full potential, as he explained: “It was his first game for us, but football is a team sport so to make him shine the team has to work well, and that’s always the priority.”
The 4-0 result also left Hürzeler “happy” after a “wild” start as he sung the praise of Brighton’s defence for limiting Villarreal after the visitors missed a first minute opportunity, whilst the attack produced “dominant” second half.
“It was a bit too wild early on but after 20-25 minutes the goal helped us control the game. After the [first minute] chance they didn’t create chances at all, so I was happy with the defensive performance.
“Offensively, in the second half it was much more dominant from us with more ball control and 4-0 is fine as a result with goals and a clean sheet, but we know that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Hürzeler made nine substitutions across the match which he believes will benefit the team going forward, as attention turns to their Premier League opener away at Everton on Saturday 17 August in a 3pm BST kick-off.
“That’s a very important thing to know that we have always have options from the bench, because when the game is equal, the players who come in can make a difference and change the dynamic of the game.”
This friendly also allowed Hürzeler to assess his squad plans with potential for some young players to go out on loan, with the 31 year-old confident that his decisions will benefit the club moving forward.
“It’s part of my job to make decisions. Of course, they are hard decisions but it’s all for the success of the club.”
One such player who has already left on loan is Facundo Buonanotte, who has made a season-long switch to Leicester after signing a new contract extension.
Brighton’s Technical Director, David Weir commented: “Facundo had a good breakthrough year last season and now he has an excellent opportunity to play regularly in the Premier League.”
Buonanotte meanwhile told lcfc.com that he is looking to build upon his five goals and two assists in English football, and continue his adaptation to the Premier League with more game time being his target.
“It’s a very dynamic and demanding type of football, but with more game time, it will become easier. I’ve already played a number of games in this league, so that will help me a lot.
“Obviously I would like to score as many goals as possible for this Club. I want the fans to be able to enjoy some great goals and victories as well. I’m here to help the Club to finish as high as possible in the league. I will do my best [to accomplish that].”
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