Roberto De Zerbi has given his verdict following Brighton’s pre-season friendly against Chelsea.
Brighton ultimately succumbed to a 4-3 defeat when they met Premier League rivals Chelsea in Philadelphia. However, there was plenty for Roberto De Zerbi to enjoy about his side’s display.
The Seagulls fought back from 4-1 down to almost complete a remarkable comeback. However, the final result won’t matter much to De Zerbi. More importantly, his squad got the chance to build up their fitness and confidence ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
Danny Welbeck and Deniz Undav got on the scoresheet for Brighton, and new signing Joao Pedro played well and showed great composure to convert from the penalty spot.
De Zerbi discusses Joao Pedro
De Zerbi enthused about Pedro’s impact after the match, saying, “Joao Pedro is a great, great player, but in attackers we have a lot of great players. The difficulty is to decide the first XI…a good problem, but it’s my responsibility,” as quoted by the club’s official website.
Pedro became Brighton’s record signing this summer. The south coast club shelled out £30 million to bring the 21-year-old to the Amex Stadium. The Brazilian forward previously played for Watford and was in fine form last season, scoring 11 times in the Championship.
De Zerbi also shared his thoughts on his team’s performance as a whole, saying there were “a lot of positive things for us…I’m very happy for the performances of my players. A lot of very good things.”
Brighton’s pre-season schedule in the USA continues with a match against Brentford in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday.