Brighton 1-1 Sheffield United (Adingra 6′, Dahoud red card 69′ | Webster 74′ og)
Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton head coach, was a frustrated man on Sunday after his overstretched, injury-hit squad threw away three points that were theirs for the taking.
Three days after winning 2-0 away to four-time European champions Ajax in Amsterdam, they became the first team this season to fail to beat Sheffield United at home.
They led after five minutes through a superb goal from Simon Adingra, but could not find a second and after having Mahmoud Dahoud sent off 20 minutes from time, conceded an own-goal equaliser and could even have lost.
It all got too much for De Zerbi, who was shown a yellow card for expressing himself too vociferously to the fourth official, Andy Madley.
The targets of the Italian’s anger were not clear, although they included the officials and his team’s failure to close out the game.
“I don’t like 80 per cent of English referees,” he said, although he could not point to a specific grievance. “I don’t like them. I don’t like their behaviour on the pitch. But I accept everything.”
He had no argument with the red card. “If I see the new rules, it is a red card, clear. I think he [Dahoud] has the experience not to make this mistake but it can happen in football.”
His players were, in fact, most deserving of his ire. “We have to kill the game,” he admitted.
“When we have to defend and suffer, we have to suffer with more order, with more energy. Because after the red card I didn’t like the team. We lost order and we defended in a bad way.”
The Seagulls are now without a league victory in six games but United’s first away point of the season, eight days after their first win of the season, hints at better to come and takes them off the foot of the table.
“I’m not bothered, not yet,” Paul Heckingbottom, their manager, said. “What is relevant is how we played against a good team. In the last two games we have been the stronger team finishing the games. We are getting the rewards from trying to be positive. It was important we stayed in the game.”
Brighton were ahead when Adingra slalomed past a series of defenders, took a flicked return pass from Facundo Buonanotte and hit the ball low past Wes Foderingham.
Brighton had now scored in 28 consecutive Premier League games but could not add a second although Ansu Fati, Buonanotte, Billy Gilmour, Kaoru Mitoma and Dahoud all tried.
United got their reward for hanging on after Dahoud saw red for scraping the back of Ben Osborn’s calf. Suddenly Brighton’s organisation was a thing of the past and five minutes later Adam Webster turned Jayden Bogle’s driven cross into his own net. United had not had a shot on target and would not until the 89th minute but could even have won if Bogle had not put his angled shot past the post.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/ZGRI68W
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