Roberto De Zerbi anger shows how horizons have shifted for Brighton
Roberto De Zerbi’s anger shows how horizons have shifted for Brighton with their manager far from pleased despite 90th-minute equaliser in 3-3 draw against Brentford
- Brighton drew 3-3 with Brantford in the Premier League on Saturday
- The Seagulls snatched a point with a penalty as the game entered added time
- Roberto De Zerbi was left frustrated despite the late equalising goal
There is a scene in Moneyball where Brad Pitt’s character Billy Beane takes a baseball bat to a stereo because his team, the Oakland A’s, had lost a game and didn’t deserve any music.
Having seen what Roberto De Zerbi did to his miniature TV monitor by the dugout — sending it crashing to earth after watching a replay of Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele make a mistake — you feared for the safety of any other electrical devices in the dressing room after this draw.
De Zerbi did not want to see any of Brighton’s players pleased with this point. No music. No joking around with one another. No celebrations after Alexis Mac Allister’s 90th-minute VAR-awarded penalty made it 3-3.
Plenty of other managers might have been tempted to celebrate a draw against a talented Brentford team. But not De Zerbi, and not Brighton, and not when they are striving for Europe.
Moneyball is relevant because that 2011 film details a data-driven way to win and that is the Brighton model.
Roberto De Zerbi was left frustrated after Saturday’s dramatic draw with Brentford
They do it differently under the owner, Tony Bloom. They sign players like Kaoru Mitoma from Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale, and Moises Caicedo from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle, and turn them into Premier League stars.
Brighton pummelled Brentford’s goal with 33 attempts — the most of any Premier League side in a match this season.
For their manager, this felt more like two points dropped than one gained, and for that reason, there was nothing to celebrate about Mac Allister’s late leveller.
‘The players understand the game,’ De Zerbi said after Saturday’s draw at the Amex Stadium. ‘They understand when we deserve to win and when we don’t deserve to win. I love my players. It was difficult to change three times the result of the game. I’m proud of this.
‘But if you watch the game in general, we cannot say we didn’t deserve to win. We conceded three goals in an incredible way. If we concede goals like this, we cannot achieve our target.’
And that target is Europe? ‘Yes, I think so,’ De Zerbi added.
Asked if he is this open about European football with Brighton’s players, he continued: ‘Yes. For sure. But when I speak with my players, I am stronger than I am in my press conference.’
Funny how times can change. If you offered Brighton fans a return of Graham Potter, they would turn it down in a heartbeat.
They are very much Team De Zerbi now and it was refreshing to hear a Premier League manager speak so brazenly about his ambitions when others might have played down such talk.
Brighton are now sixth, and Brentford seventh, having also adopted the Moneyball approach under their owner, Matthew Benham. They too are on the cusp of something special.
Manager Thomas Frank said: ‘We dream. We dream big. When you lead three times, you want more, especially when you’re leading in the 89th minute. But I’ll say this was a good point.’
Pontus Jansson’s header gave Brentford the lead, then Brighton made it 1-1 thanks to Mitoma’s lob. Ivan Toney scored next, then Danny Welbeck headed home for 2-2.
Alexis Mac Allister equalised with a penalty in the final minute of the match
Ethan Pinnock hoped he had tapped in the winner for Brentford, but Mac Allister’s penalty after a clear handball by Aaron Hickey completed the 3-3 scoreline between these two European-chasing clubs.
As a poker player, Bloom is an expert at hiding his emotions. Yet like De Zerbi, he will have struggled to conceal his disappointment after this draw.
Bloom and Benham are former friends who became enemies after an acrimonious split saw them stop working together. And in the end, each was left holding three of a kind at the Amex.
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