Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi vented his disappointment after his side fell 4-0 against Roma in the first leg of their Europa League tie.
The Giallorossi scored twice in each half while dominating the play to give themselves a commanding advantage entering the return leg next week in England.
“We played our game and we gave our best and maybe now our best at this moment is this performance,” he told Brighton’s official website.
“Roma were much better in terms of showing their experience of playing this type of game and we suffered too much at this level of the competition, which we’re not used to.”
He continued, “We created a lot of chances – the same perhaps in numbers – but Roma played with a different speed and habits to win the game. It’s the first time Brighton played in the Europa League last 16 – it’s a big level for us but I know we played 20% less than our potential.”
“Now the focus is on Nottingham Forest [on Sunday]. We have to keep going because we want to compete in the Premier League for the rest of the season.”
