The Italian media went into overdrive to promote the matchup between AS Roma and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Europa League, with a lot of focus on Roberto De Zerbi.
There was a lot of excitement as the so-called genius manager faced Daniele De Rossi, who had been brought in by the Italian team to attempt and turn around José Mourinho’s underwhelming first half of the season.
Few could have imagined what transpired on the field during the first leg on Thursday night, though, and three Brighton players are now being criticised by Gazzetta dello Sport following their performances.
They zero down on Lewis Dunk right away, calling him “The Worst” of the group for the Seagulls and lamenting how “awful” his mishandled pass allowed Romelu Lukaku to score.
He received a score of 4/10, the same as Jan Paul van Hecke, who was deemed “full of carelessness” for choosing to “senselessly” meander into midfield in order to score AS Roma’s fourth goal.
Igor (4/10), a former Fiorentina player who is currently at Brighton, was “careless” during the 1-0 as he saw Paulo Dybala go off without him. He also made the “wrong move” in the closing moments of the game, which led to their opponent’s goal.
The Brazilian’s most colourful critic, though, comes from Corriere dello Sport, who likewise score him a 4. They point out that the Brazilian committed the same error—calling an offside and doing nothing about it—for his former club in the Conference League final against West Ham.
They then discuss the “festival of horrors and mistakes” he made during the game.
It was not a good night for Roberto De Zerbi’s team, and they now face an almost impossible job in Brighton to even attempt to win this match.
