Roberto De Zerbi has hailed the Premier League Summer Series a ‘great experience’ as Albion returned to the UK following a successful trip to the United States.
Albion’s head coach believes the experience of playing in an environment his players were not used to will also act as good preparation for the club’s first Europa League campaign.
He said, “It was a great experience to play in the USA, it has been a fantastic 12 days. We worked very well to improve our knowledge and idea of football, especially with the new players, and we have not had an injury, so I am very happy.
“In Europe we want to fight, to show our quality, to play with courage and make our fans happy so this experience will help us too."
The squad arrive back in the UK on Sunday having lost 2-1 to a last-minute goal against Newcastle in their third and final Summer Series match in New Jersey on Friday.
.@Kaoru_Mitoma put it on a plate for @DannyWelbeck last night! 🍽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/NmQznhCriu
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 29, 2023
Danny Welbeck had earlier put Albion in front and despite losing De Zerbi was pleased with his team’s performance.
“I’m really happy, we played a great game,” added the Italian. “We played 60 minutes in an amazing way then the last part of the game we closed with our under-21s. We have a lot of young players and we have to give them the possibility to make mistakes, but it’s not a problem. They will become great players too.”
Albion are back in action again this Sunday when they conclude pre-season with an Amex friendly against Rayo Vallecano prior to kicking off the new Premier League campaign against Luton Town on 12 August at a sold-out Amex.