15/03/25
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK.
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK.
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Congratulations on the point. When that chance went to Bolivar, did you think you were going
00:08to win the game?
00:11No, because the ball wasn't in, so I didn't thought about that. First of all, we have
00:18to put in the goal and I think it was one of two or three really big chances in the
00:23second half where we could go for the winner. But in the end, it doesn't hurt to complain,
00:29it's about reflecting it, analysing it, what small margins we have to improve and then
00:35we have to do it the next time better.
00:36I realise it's difficult for you as a new manager to contextualise Brighton, but do
00:42you take anything from the fact that this club has never won a game away at Manchester
00:48City and never got a point in the Premier League here and you have achieved that?
00:55I said it before the game, I'm not a big fan of statistics and I'm not chasing any
01:02individual record. It's about chasing the team performance, it's about getting on the
01:08next level and I thought today we showed an impressive performance, we played in our style,
01:13we proved we can compete with every team in the league, especially in the second half
01:18we were the better team. So, overall it's a fact that we won the first time a point
01:26here but I think for us it's a more disappointing feeling that we didn't go home with three points.
01:34Fabian, you spoke yesterday about trying to find regular set-piece takers, have you found
01:39one with Pervis? How much work has he been doing, the free-kick and the corner that led
01:44to the equaliser?
01:46Like we said yesterday, there are several takers and we still try to develop them. Pervis,
01:54Yassine Ayari, Mente, they all tried it this season so far, they all really tried to work
02:01hard on these things, tried to improve every training session because we proved it today
02:06that set-pieces might be game-changers, set-pieces are very helpful to win you games in the Premier
02:11League so I'm happy that it worked today. But I think we are still in the process and
02:16we are still trying to make them more in perfection instead of coincidence because today when
02:28we saw the second goal from us it was more a coincidence goal from us. So, we have to
02:34work on these things, you can work hard on set-pieces and that's what we try to do every day.
02:39Was the disappointment the way you conceded the two goals?
02:47Yes, I think there we lost the two points because we didn't find the right balance between
02:53when we play out from the back, when we try to find a solution on the ground and when
02:56we go for a long ball and for the second ball. I think this decision-making, especially in
03:03the first half, wasn't on the highest level from us and we have to analyse it and we have
03:06to be honest to each other that it's our responsibility that we weren't clean enough
03:13in the first half and therefore we always have to react on a goal from City and that
03:20costs a lot of energy. We did it quite an impressive way but in the end we missed a
03:25little bit of energy which we have to bring into the first half to react on the goals from City.
03:33Have you worked on the players in the middle, creating spaces, because you seem to get on
03:41the end of others, not just the goals?
03:44I think set-pieces is a teamwork, so it's not only about having the right taker, it's
03:49about having the right blocks, it's about finding the right space. So, this has to be
03:55a pattern, it has to be a really good, automatically pattern for us and therefore we have to keep
04:03working on these things because these things won't come overnight. There are really details
04:09where you have to improve if you want to score a set-piece goal and therefore we are still
04:12not on the highest level and that's the process we're in at the moment and we have to keep
04:17working on it.
04:18Did that afternoon almost sum up his progress in a way, all the good work but not the goal?
04:26I wouldn't say that because I think he showed a great performance today, he improved when
04:34we compared to the other games. He looked quite sharp also in this minute, I think it
04:39was quite late in the game and he made a long sprint so he was physically and mentally on
04:44a higher level than he was in the games before. Sometimes you miss chances like this, sometimes
04:49you score, sometimes you are the hero, sometimes not, but in the end I always say to the guys
04:54that these things happen in football. For me it's more important how we react on these
04:58things because on the one side you can be very disappointed, on the other side you can
05:02have the mindset and attitude to say to yourself I will do it the next time better and that's
05:07what I want to see from my players.
05:09Tarek and Solih, can you tell us anything about them?
05:14Yes, T has a bigger issue. He had a bad moment in the training session, I can't say exactly
05:25how long he will be out and Solih has just a small issue so I think he will be back after
05:31international break.