Roberto De Zerbi, Ansu Fati and Joao Pedro all react after Brighton & Hove Albion beat Ajax 2-0 to claim their first-ever European victory in the Europa League.
Roberto De Zerbi has expressed his pride at delivering a “great day” for Brighton & Hove Albion fans as his side recorded their first-ever European victory against Ajax in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Seagulls were under pressure to claim a positive result after failing to win their opening two Group B games against AEK Athens and Marseille.
However, goals either side of half time from Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati helped Brighton clinch a landmark 2-0 triumph in front of their own supporters against an out-of-sorts and managerless Ajax outfit to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive.
Pedro scored his fourth goal in the Europa League on the stroke of half time, pouncing on a loose ball to tap home from close range after Kaoru Mitoma‘s strike was parried by Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.
Barcelona loanee Fati then doubled Brighton’s advantage seven minutes after the interval when he ran onto a superb through-ball from Simon Adingra before rolling a right-footed finish into the far corner.
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De Zerbi’s side have moved up to third in Group B at the halfway stage, level on points with AEK Athens in second and only one point behind Marseille at the summit.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, De Zerbi said: “We played a great game, we played very well, we deserved to win, maybe with more goals but the most important news is that we didn’t concede a goal.
“We kept a clean sheet (Brighton’s first of the season in any competition), it is important but now on Sunday we have another big game and we have to be ready.
“We didn’t expect the tactical disposition of Ajax, they defended with two strikers and we had time to understand the space. In the second half, we understood the space better.
“We scored the first goal after a lot of passes. We have to improve to move the ball faster, to play and reduce the amount of touches for every player but we have got the first victory in Europe for Brighton.
“It is a great day for our fans, our club, our owner and we are very proud to give them this day.”
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Fati added: “First win for Brighton in Europe, very very happy. Great performance from the team.”
Discussing his goal, the Spaniard added: “I moved into space and he [Simon Adingra] gave me the ball and I shot. Very happy to score my first goal in this stadium and we go for more.”
Pedro, meanwhile, has urged everyone associated with Brighton to “enjoy” the historic European triumph, adding: “First win for Brighton in the Europa League, we needed that this time for the fans to enjoy. Happy to score, to play for this team and to make history. We keep going to play for Brighton.
“We didn’t win the last two games, we had a tough game against Marseille so today I think we deserve. You have to enjoy tonight and be prepared for the Premier League game [against Fulham].”
Brighton’s Premier League home encounter with Fulham on Sunday will be followed six days later by a top-flight trip to Everton, before turning their attention back to the Europa League to face Ajax in Amsterdam on matchday four in two weeks’ time.
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