De Zerbi blast for Emery ‘time wasters’

FURIOUS Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said he was wrong to think there was always “fair play” in the Premier League after complaining about Villa time-wasting.

Defeat to Unai Emery’s side ended a run of three wins in a row for the Italian. ■ by NEIL McLEMAN Victory could have lifted Brighton into fifth place, but at least they stay above Graham Potter’s Chelsea.

De Zerbi (inset), who replaced Potter in September, was unhappy with Villa running down the clock.

He said: “We speak about fair play in the Premier League. I didn’t see that today – there was a lot of wasting time. ‘‘Before I came to the Premier League, I thought the people in the Premier League were correct but, no, it is not like this.

‘‘The referee had to control the game. It is his work, not my work, my players or fans, it is his work.

‘‘My job is to train my players and prepare them for the game. For this situation I was angry and frustrated.’’

But after 10 games in English football, De Zerbi said: “It’s still a good record. Maybe we’d like to have won a few more games because we deserve it. But we’re happy.’’