Reaction: We did enough to get something, says Fabian Hurzeler

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Head coach praises side's courage and personality in 4-3 defeat at Stamford Bridge

2026-08-30T16:30+01:00

Fabian Hurzeler points the way on the touchline at Stamford Bridge. 📷James Boardman

Fabian Hurzeler assessed Sunday's 4-3 defeat to Chelsea when he spoke to the media after the game.

Fabian's overall assessment …

"Overall, a frustrating result for us. We scored three goals, which should be enough to take something. Regarding the performance, it should definitely be enough to get more than a defeat. But in the end, football is about getting the small margins right and being brilliant at the basics. That's the first thing. We were not that intense or clean in the basic things."

On the frustration of not getting something from the game...

"I just said to the lads that I want to have more belief - the belief that we can come here and compete with them. Overall, I saw a really good Brighton team that tried to control the game, dominate it, and create chances in possession. The small margins made the difference, and we weren't at our highest level today. We are responsible for this result. That's a positive to take away, that we could decide how this game ended. We will take plenty of positive things away, but also the frustration that the result wasn't on our side.

"Sometimes there is individual quality on the side of Chelsea. I have the biggest belief in my team and my players that we can compete with every team in the league if we play at our highest level.

Promise David made his debut in the closing stages at Stamford Bridge. 📷James Boardman

"That's something we have to re-emphasise because we showed it, especially in the second half where we really controlled the game. We were there to score the third goal earlier and completely get the game into our hands. When we scored to make it 4-3, let's see how this game ends.

"We started too late to get into this game. There's not always a reason why, but definitely, from the first minute, we wanted to have this belief. We weren't able to show this through the whole game."

On being punished by Chelsea’s counter-attacks...

"These are the small margins I speak about when you talk about rest defence. It's two or three metres - how tight can you be on the opponent? Can he turn? Can he control the ball or not? How active are we in rest defence? How fast do we react when we lose the ball? These are the small margins.

"Besides that, we conceded the first goal after a corner and the second goal after a throw-in. Just to get an understanding that when the ball is out, we have to be switched on. We will work on this. Like I said, there are so many positives to take away. We have had a very intense ten days, and the boys have done really well. They showed a big effort today, and in the end, they definitely deserved more."