De Zerbi says sorry as fading Brighton play ‘without soul’
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi took aim at his players after a second heavy defeat in three days, accusing them of playing without pride. Bournemouth followed where Manchester City led on Thursday in punishing a Brighton side who are now in serious retreat with goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert.
De Zerbi apologised to the club’s supporters, saying that while it was harder to rouse themselves for games without the realistic carrot of qualifying for Europe, a limp and weary display at the Vitality Stadium was inexcusable. “We are sorry for the performance,” De Zerbi said. “We are spending a tough season, especially in the last two or three months. We have to find the energy to finish the season in a different way.
“Injuries are a factor, but motivation as well. Motivation in football is 80 per cent of our work. In my time, we kept every game a big challenge, a big target. In this moment, too many points from European qualification, we are working for an unclear target, but I can’t accept a game without soul. We have to stop this moment quickly. I have a big respect for my players and I know they are suffering in the same way, but we have to be honest with ourselves. We have always to play with soul, with honour and with pride because we are Brighton.”
De Zerbi’s team looked like a side whose thoughts were drifting towards the beach – presumably not Brighton – and reclining on the mid-table chaise longue did not go down well with the Italian.
De Zerbi did his best to inject life, making seven changes ahead of kick-off, but it had no effect.
A first Premier League start for striker Mark O’mahony, 19, ended when he was replaced at half-time. By then, Bournemouth were a goal to the good as Brighton’s set-piece defence, a persistent Achilles heel, let them down again. They failed to deal with Lewis Cook’s near-post corner and Argentine defender Senesi nodded the home side into the lead.
Unal wasted two good chances to double the advantage, but it was third time lucky for the on-loan Getafe forward when he put away a terrific header in the 52nd minute.
He owed a debt of gratitude to Dango Ouattara, who hurdled the advertising hoarding after stretching to reach the ball to cross from the byline, but the power Unal put
through a looping ball left Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen with no hope. Kluivert wrapped things up late on after a lovely pass from substitute Ryan Christie.
The win meant Bournemouth topped their best return for a Premier League season, moving to 48 points. That tally is even more noteworthy given that it took them 10 games at the start of the season to record their first win.
Back then, there were doubts over the wisdom of swapping Gary O’neil for Andoni Iraola, but the Spanish head coach has more than proved his worth since. His team are moving nicely to his beat. “It was a very, very good performance,” Iraola said. “We were talking about the points record. Now we have it. I’m hoping the players will continue pushing.”
Leicester City rewrote the rule book on what is possible for the smaller Premier League clubs in 2015-16, but Bournemouth are punching well above their weight to sit in the top half of the table. The only cloud was a serious-looking knee injury sustained by the influential Antoine Semenyo in added time. He left the field on a stretcher after an audible crack as he fell awkwardly in a tackle. “It looks bad. We’ll see how bad,” Iraola said.
As for Brighton, with their injury issues, they have been swimming against the tide for some time, but it looks like the wave machine has been turned up. The end of the season cannot come quickly enough, but with a run-in that takes in Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Manchester United, there may be more pain to endure yet.