Interviews

De Zerbi: We deserved to win

Head coach happy to beat Palace without Albion being at their most fluent.

By Bruce Talbot • 15 March 2023

By Paul Hazlewood
Roberto De Zerbi celebrates as the full time whistle goes.

Roberto De Zerbi was happy to see his side win ‘in a different way’ after Solly March’s goal sealed a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at the Amex.

March scored his sixth goal of 2023 in the first half as Albion moved up to joint sixth-place with Liverpool in the table.

“I was happy with the performance. The first 15 minutes was very difficult for us, we prepared the game in a different way to how Palace setup but after this 20 minutes we played very well.

“It wasn’t like West Ham, Fulham or Palace in their stadium in terms of our performance. Sometimes the midweek game can be more difficult, it was a different way to win but we deserved it.

03:09

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De Zerbi hails fantastic atmosphere

“We created the possibilities to close the game, but we didn’t do that. If you don’t then the last part can be very difficult and it was for us so the clean sheet was important.

“Tonight, we didn’t play the best game of the season in terms of the quality of the play, but if you win it’s the best [feeling] for the fans. I told the players to start quickly and get the fans involved quickly. At home their importance is very big.”

Asked about his match-winner, De Zerbi added, “Solly is in a very good moment, he’s very important for us and his goals are important for him and the team. Now we have to prepare for the FA Cup, it’s an important game for us.”