De Zerbi: I was delighted with Barco's performance

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Head coach belives young Argentinian has a bright future.

Bruce Talbot

2024-04-26T05:00:00Z

Roberto De Zerbi in animated mood on the touchline.

Roberto De Zerbi was ‘delighted’ the performance of Valentin Barco and praised the bravery of his young players in the defeat to Manchester City on Thursday.

The 19-year-old made his full Premier League debut in Thursday's 4-0 loss at the Amex.

“Barco showed a lot of personality,” said De Zerbi. “I was delighted with his performance - Barco is [going to be] an important player.

“If you work with a lot of young players we can defend in the last 20 metres and still lose to Manchester City.

Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi gives his verdict following the 4-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola's team at the Amex.

“Or you can work with the DNA of Brighton and take some risk and you have to accept mistakes. We have to analyse long-term and not just in this game.

“We played against one of the best teams in the world. We tried to play with our DNA and characteristics, but we conceded four goals in a bad way. We made mistakes but we have to accept this.

“It was Valentin’s first game and he was the best player in the pitch but he made mistakes for two goals. The young players playing with this bravery will be a crucial part of the future for Brighton.”

Albion are back in action on Sunday when we travel to Bournemouth.

Va;lentin Barco tussles with Julian Alvarez

“We were disappointed with the [City] result and frustrated we can’t compete against the big teams at this moment because of our injuries,” added De Zerbi.

“But we have to speak about the improvement we have to make; what we can do to recover the injured players; and preparing for Bournemouth on Sunday and finishing a season which has been tough in the right way.

“Against City the players gave their best in terms of attitude and behaviour. We have to improve – you can improve losing a game – and then we move on, and we change our focus to the last five games.”