The Seagulls manager said Sevilla played “a great game” but praised Manchester United ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final.
Manchester United are ‘one of the best teams in Britain’ despite losing to Sevilla, says the Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, whose Brighton side will face the Reds in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.
United travel to Wembley after a disappointing 3-0 Europa League defeat in Spain, ending hopes of a treble win this season. They will look to bounce back by beating Brighton and reaching the FA Cup final for the first time since 2018.
Speaking ahead of the clash, De Zerbi played down suggestions that United Europa League exit could have a negative impact on sunday’s game, insisting he is instead focusing on what his team can do.
“For sure Sevilla played a very, very good game,” he said. “And Sevilla, like United, are a great team in Europe.
“I think the best solution is to focus on ourselves, what we can do and what we need to do to win the game and respect the opponent. Man United are one of the best teams in Britain , but I think we deserve to play this kind of match in this competition.
Joel Veltman and Evan Ferguson – who is tentatively linked with a move to United are doubts for the game after sustaining injuries in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Chelsea. De Zerbi said their availability will be determined on Saturday.
He explained: “The injury situation is not yet clear. We’ll see tomorrow morning. We still have two days to understand the situation and analyze our situation.
De Zerbi has explained that his side will be able to ‘compete’ with United as Brighton seek their first FA Cup final since losing 4-0 to the Reds in 1983.
“Obviously if we want to progress,
if we want to improve our mentality, we have to play,” continued the Italian. “We don’t have to be pressured, or maybe it’s better, we have to like that pressure.
“We have to get used to feeling this pressure because playing this type of match should be an honor, not a problem. I want to start the game with a positive head, a positive idea and joy. To show our quality, we have to try to enjoy.”
He added: “We can win the game, maybe we can lose, but we can definitely compete. We can play them in a game.”
