Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Maty Ryan conceded that key moments in the game cost the side in Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls competed well for large spells with the Premier League champions in the north-west but were on the wrong end of the result – the Australian reflected honestly on the team’s penultimate game of the season.
He said, “Coming to a place like this and against this opposition it was always going to be difficult, but we battled really well.
“We could have probably done better on a couple of the goals and on occasions they got in-behind us a bit too easily.
“We should have learned before their third goal because they played a set-piece quickly in the first half in a similar fashion, but then we also had that big chance in the second half and you need to take those against these sorts of teams.”
Leonardo Ulloa’s first Premier League goal for the club had got the visitors back on level terms during the first half, but Pep Guardiola’s men retook the lead and added a decisive third during the second period.
Ryan was keen to praise the endeavour of the side and pointed to the camaraderie within the group.
“Credit to the team though because what you see is what you get with us and we always give our all out on the pitch.
“We play with our hearts and our spirit as a team is one of our strengths as well, and everyone knows they’re in for a difficult game when they face us.
“We tried to set up well today and we knew we’d have to defend for large spells – but we came here to fight it out.”
The side’s final game of the Premier League campaign is against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, and the keeper insisted that another spirited performance on Merseyside at the weekend was the target for the Seagulls as they look to prepare for next season.
“We want to show the world how good we can be in this division, and we want to make the fans and local area proud of us.
“We want to finish the season with plenty of momentum so that we can start the next campaign on the right foot.
“This season we’ve had to learn from every game and we’ve taken lots of lessons from those – high quality opposition teach you a lot and help you grow.
“We beat Manchester United and that shows that we’ve come on leaps and bounds, plenty of teams have come to Manchester City this season and been played off the park but we held our own for the most-part today – it hasn’t happened too many times this season.
“The squad has grown as the campaign has gone on and there’s plenty more potential within the group and I’ve got full confidence that this group can keep making good progress.”