Bernardo: We Have The Quality To Improve

Brighton & Hove Albion defender Bernardo gave credit to Saturday’s opponents Watford for their 2-0 victory, but believes the Seagulls will improve with more game time, after making his Premier League debut at Vicarage Road.

Fellow summer signings Yves Bissouma and Alireza Jahanbakhsh also played their first games for Chris Hughton’s team, and despite leaving Hertfordshire empty-handed, the Brazilian believes Albion have the quality to bounce back.

He said, “They were better than us - stronger, faster and smarter. They fully deserved to win. We need to improve because if we play like that in our next matches, it won’t be an easy season.

“I have the impression that we didn’t give our best performance, but I’m sure we have the quality and mentality to correct things and have a good season.

“The new players have settled in very well with the team. [Yves] Bissouma had a good match and Ali [Jahanbakhsh] is also a fantastic player.

“With time and more games together, we will get better chemistry and play better matches.”

Bernardo shifted to right-back after Gaetan Bong replaced Bruno in the 26th minute, and the former RB Leipzig defender expressed his comfort at playing in either of the full-back positions.

“In Germany, I played many times on the right-hand side of defence. For me personally, it wasn’t something new.

“Bruno is a very important player, and when he’s not playing, that’s not good for us. It could have been an influence, but it wasn’t the main reason for our defeat.”

The Seagulls now turn their attention to next Sunday’s game against Manchester United at the Amex Stadium, and the Brazilian is focused on making up for yesterday’s disappointing result against the Hornets.

“If we are able to put this result behind us and get either one point or three points in each of the next couple of matches, it would be something good for us.

“The Premier League is one of the strongest leagues in the world, and especially against these teams, it’s very tough to get one point or three points.

“We will go looking for that - getting points after this defeat to Watford would be a very good thing.”