De Zerbi: We 'played seriously' to progress

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Head coach reflects on 4-2 win over Stoke City in the Emirates FA Cup.

Bruce Talbot

2024-01-06T17:55:00Z

Roberto De Zerbi in animated mood on the touchline.

Roberto De Zerbi praised his side for ‘playing seriously’ after they eased into the fourth round the Emirates FA Cup with a 4-2 win against Stoke City.

Two goals in the last 20 minutes by Joao Pedro took him to 15 for the season after Pervis Estupinan and Lewis Dunk had scored either side of half-time.

“We knew before that it would a tough game, there are no easy games at this level,” said De Zerbi. “But I think we deserved to win, we played well for 90 minutes. We conceded the first goal after making two mistakes when we had chances to score but after that moment I think we played better than Stoke, and I’m happy with my players and the performance.

“In the second half before we conceded the penalty we had two clear chances. When we are focused on the game and show a good attitude I’m always confident we can win the game.

“I asked them to play seriously, like it was in the Premier League or Europa League and they did it.”

De Zerbi was delighted with Joao’s contribution and believes there is more to come from the Brazilian striker.

“We love Joao, I think his potential is bigger than he is showing at the moment and I thought he could have started the game better but he has a lot of potential to become a great player for us.”

Albion don’t play again until 22 January at home to Wolves and De Zerbi is pleased to have the opportunity to rest and reset.

“It’s a great thing not to have a replay as we’re playing a lot of games already, this win will give us a week to recover and work in a different way. Last season we played in the semi-final of the FA Cup and we’d like to repeat that level in the competition.”