The Work Roberto De Zerbi Has Done At Brighton Is Commendable

On Saturday at the AMEX Stadium, Liverpool lost comprehensively 3-0 to Brighton, and while neutrals might think it was a one-off, anyone who saw the game would have agreed that the Seagulls were true value for their money. They outplayed the Reds and thoroughly deserved the victory. At the core of everything good, they did was Solly March, but special praise has to be reserved for manager Roberto de Zerbi.

The Italian manager had been hired to replace Graham Potter, who left for Chelsea back in September, and not much was expected of the Italian manager, who had led Shakhtar Donetsk to a Ukrainian Super Cup win, but was forced to leave the country following the Russian invasion. Potter had done amazing work at Brighton, but de Zerbi has improved on the work of the Englishman, making Brighton even more entertaining.

Under Potter, they looked very controlled and tactically flexible, but under De Zerbi, they look more direct and are not afraid to take on anybody, but still control games as shown by their 62% possession against Liverpool. The likes of Karou Mitoma and Nathan Ferguson have proven to be revelations in recent weeks, with the former taking Leandro Trossard's place in the team. The manager has isolated Trossard in recent weeks, saying that the Belgian needed to understand that the team comes first.

Mitoma has made the absence of Trossard more bearable, befuddling defenders with his unique strengths of dribbling and exceptional pace. Moises Caicedo has also replaced Yves Bissouma spectacularly, while Alexis MacAllister has been exceptional, taking his club form to Qatar where he won the World Cup with Argentina. Chelsea loanee, Levi Colwill has also grown into his own in the last month, establishing himself as a worthy partner to club captain, Lewis Dunk.

De Zerbi's handling of the Trossard situation means that he has stamped his authority in the dressing room, and the results are there to back him. After a difficult few weeks in charge of a team still struggling to cope with Potter's sudden departure, they finally won under De Zerbi at the 6th time in asking, a comprehensive victory over Graham Potter's Chelsea, in a victory that put the Italian on the side of their new manager, banishing the ghosts of Potter.

The Seagulls are currently 7th on the league table with 30 points after 18 matches, and may even be looking to finish in the Europa League places, which would represent success for a team of Brighton's ilk. Replacing Potter was never going to be easy, but De Zerbi has taken the job with grace, implemented his own ideas, gotten the buy-in of the players and fans, and has the support of the board. The only way for Brighton at the moment is up.

The odds

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