Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Pascal Gross couldn’t hide his delight after his second-half header sealed a 1-0 victory over Manchester United and Premier League survival at the Amex Stadium on Friday evening.
The German’s seventh goal of the season sparked wild celebrations on the south coast on a historic and memorable night in front of the television cameras, and Gross was understandably jubilant after the game.
He said, “It’s a dream come true - I’m so proud of the team and it’s a perfect evening.
“The goal was about me anticipating the ball falling – luckily I managed to get in-between the two defenders. Heading isn’t one of my strengths but I got enough power on it and I’m so glad it went in.
“I was brave at that moment and wanted to score – I haven’t scored too many with my head so in a game like this it’s great.”
Albion played exceptionally well against their second-placed opponents throughout the contest, and the Player of the Season highlighted the side’s determination as being a key factor in the famous win.
“The whole team were fired up and, in my opinion, we were amazing.
“We played so hard, with so much confidence and a high tempo and you could see we wanted to finish the job of survival in front of our own fans tonight.
“Tonight, we’re staying up and I’m very happy. We felt we deserved more from the other two games against Manchester United this season, but the win and everything that goes with it has more than made up for that.”
The Seagulls were scheduled to face five of the top seven in their last group of games for the campaign, and having drawn with Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley before the victory over Jose Mourinho’s men, Gross emphasised the belief and confidence Albion had in their ability ahead of what was deemed a daunting run of fixtures.
“Our last three games were against tough sides, but we always believe in ourselves, especially at home – we play some really great football here.
“There’s no luck involved – it’s all about hard work and we know we have to work hard in our shape.
“We know we have to work hard defensively and then when we win the ball, we know we have the players to break on teams and get on the attack – we have 11 defenders first and then we look forward, we showed that fantastically this evening.”