Despite not shaking hands with counterpart Steve Cooper, Roberto De Zerbi claims his wild celebrations following Brighton’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest with 10 men were not “disrespectful”.
Head coach De Zerbi chose to celebrate with the away fans instead of extending a warm greeting to Cooper after Albion’s first Premier League victory in seven games at City Ground, thanks to a brazen double from substitute Joao Pedro and a deft goal from Evan Ferguson.
While Tariq Lamptey and Ansu Fati hobbled off during the game and Lewis Dunk’s red card left them down for almost thirty minutes, the Italian acknowledged that the team celebrated as though it was a “Champions League final” and explained that this was because they had managed to secure the three points despite a mounting injury list.
The last time the Premier League title was won was at the end of September. “I want to explain our celebration; it wasn’t disrespectful to the opponent because I am used to living inside of football,” he said. “We are suffering a lot with injuries, we lost two players in the first half, we received a red card, we lost two points in the last games against Sheffield United and Fulham.”
This is one of the hardest periods of my career, so we are going through a lot of hardship. There was a huge celebration. We’re overjoyed, and I’m proud of the character and poise we displayed during a really trying time. It is tough for Brighton to compete in two competitions, the Europa League with Ajax, AEK Athens, and Marseille, and seventh place in the league, without ten players.
Even though it wasn’t the Champions League, we celebrated it like it was, and we played a great game with 10 players minus the captain.”
In the third minute, Anthony Elanga had given Forest the lead, and Ferguson had tied the score. Pedro gave Brighton the lead in stoppage time of the first half after Pedro and Lamptey hobbled off within the first thirty-five minutes.
Albion, who now have ten players injured, took the lead when the Brazilian scored again just before the hour mark, but the drama was far from over. Referee Anthony Taylor initially dismissed Callum Hudson-Odoi’s penalty appeals after he went down due to contact from substitute Jack Hinshelwood.
After that, VAR recommended the referee to award a penalty. Dunk was first booked for intruding while he was looking at the pitchside monitor. He was given a red card for foul and abusive language just 20 seconds later, and Morgan Gibbs-White scored the ensuing penalty in the 76th minute. After the game, Dunk expressed regret to his teammates for being benched, but De Zerbi promised not to be too harsh on the centre back.
“I have not spoken with Lewis yet; he seems like a good guy; perhaps he made a mistake,” he continued. I don’t think the situation is clear. The decision made by the referee must be accepted. I consistently respect the referee’s ruling. Dunky is more than just a player; he is a Brighton supporter. We are able to comprehend his feelings and errors.
“Rules irritate me. I am a coach, not a police officer. He expressed regret to all of them and acknowledged his error.
Brighton managed to hold on and move up to seventh place in the Premier League standings.
