Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi does not know whether his side have the squad depth required to cope with a hectic run of games.
The Seagulls’ European dream suffered a big blow on Wednesday night as they were beaten 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, where De Zerbi said his players lacked energy just three days after they lost the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United on penalties.
They now have eight games to play in a month as they aim to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.
Asked whether his squad is light, the Italian replied: “I don’t know. For sure I am honest and I don’t want to speak in this way when we lose the game.
“I am proud of my players even though we lost. We will speak with (chairman) Tony (Bloom) at the end of the season. We are suffering too many injuries in this moment.
“I said this game was the most important game of the season. I knew the game was very, very, very tough. It was very tough for the energy but for the head too. The big teams are used to playing today, tomorrow, at four o’clock in the night, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the afternoon with the rain or sun. We are working on this.
“I think we can reach this level. I am speaking with Tony (Bloom). If we want to reach this level I think it is better to say I know the way. I will work hard to reach this level. I am not speaking about the table, I am speaking about the mentality.”
For Forest, victory gave their survival chances a much-needed shot in the arm as they climbed out of the bottom three.
Boss Steve Cooper was delighted that his side stuck to a plan to deliver a first three points in 12 games.
“We were never going to have a competition of possession or passes with them, because that wouldn’t have been the right plan,” Cooper said. “I asked the players at half-time to continue, not to get too frustrated – because some parts of the game they wouldn’t have enjoyed greatly – but I said they would get their rewards.
“We scored the second goal completely from the plan. The little box they play in midfield, with the centre-backs and the midfield players, is good, but if you do get it, it’s a really open pitch. We managed to take advantage of that.
“The players stuck to the plan brilliantly. It’s not as if we’ve been winning every week, so for the players to show that mentality and confidence in the game…We should take a lot of heart from that.”
Pep Guardiola unhappy at Rodri for red card in Man City win
Pep Guardiola admitted he was angry with Rodri after the influential midfielder was sent off in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Spain international was dismissed early in the second half of Saturday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium after raising his hands to the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.
Rodri protested at the time, and there was a delay before referee Anthony Taylor’s decision was upheld by VAR, but Guardiola claimed there could be no excuses for his conduct.
The City manager said: “Hopefully Rodri will learn. The game was perfect with 35 minutes gone and after it became chaos.
“That’s not our responsibility, that’s for sure, but Rodri has to control himself and his emotions. I can get a yellow card but Rodri can’t. I don’t play. The guys inside (the pitch) have to be careful.
“I said at half-time, ‘Be careful guys, relax, control your emotions’. Unfortunately, Rodri could not do it. Now we have to accept the decisions.”
Asked if he was angry with Rodri, Guardiola said: “Yes. I don’t like to play with 10 for our faults. He has apologised.”
Despite being critical of Rodri, Guardiola was not happy with the way the game was controlled by Taylor.
As well as Rodri’s red card, there were 11 bookings during the game, including one for Guardiola himself.
Guardiola said: “The referee changed the game.
“For the first 35 minutes, it was absolutely not (a bad game). What changed? What happened after 2-0, it’s not down to us. You have to ask the other ones but I don’t know if they will hang up the phone.”
City had put themselves into a comfortable lead with goals inside the first 14 minutes from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland.
After Rodri’s departure, the hosts needed to change approach and Guardiola was pleased with the outcome.
He said: “Our game in the first 35 minutes was beyond good, how we find our men free, it was really, really good.
“It was a lot of minutes we had to defend, and we conceded one chance in the 94th minute. We didn’t concede anything else, against a team who won at Stamford Bridge and created problems at Arsenal and Old Trafford.
“I’m really satisfied and pleased for all of us.”
Forest manager Steve Cooper had conflicting thoughts about his side’s performance.
He said: “We had a really poor start in terms of goals conceded. We knew the level of the challenge we faced here – it doesn’t get any tougher – and the two City goals were of great quality, typical City goals.
“But we’d planned for that. It was a repeat tactic and to let it happen as easily as they did – if they were going to score I wanted it to be with real difficulty.
“The game changes with the red card. That we had a second half played in City’s half I have mixed feelings about.
“You rarely get an opportunity to have that territory here. Even more experienced teams don’t get anywhere near that but we need to make more of these opportunities. We have got to be more productive.”
Ruel Sotiriou helps Leyton Orient to narrow victory over Shrewsbury
Leyton Orient recorded a hard-fought home victory over Shrewsbury with a solitary goal from Ruel Sotiriou separating the two sides.
There was a lively and positive start to the game with five corners within the opening eight minutes, the first in favour of the visitors within 16 seconds of the start.
The Shrews squandered a golden opportunity after four minutes when Max Mata was sent clear but saw his shot blocked by the outstretched foot of O’s goalkeeper Sol Brynn.
But O’s striker Sotiriou showed the way after 20 minutes when he slammed a shot into the roof of the net for his fourth goal of the season after Idris El Mizouni fashioned the opportunity.
The second period lacked quality with the visitors, who had not scored in their previous four league matches, showing their profligacy in front of goal with Brynn denying Ryan Bowman and Tom Flanagan.
At the opposite end, Sotiriou and Ethan Galbraith missed good opportunities to put the issue beyond all doubt for the hosts.
Barbados, Bermuda register wins in League B
The Road to the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup continued with two League B encounters on Friday. Bermuda and Barbados started the tournament with three-point performances at home.
Barbados takes the top of Group C on goal difference given their larger margin of victory, while Bermuda starts in position to challenge for first place. The Dominican Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will look to avenge their defeats with a home match next week.
Bermuda vs Dominican Republic
Bermuda opened their campaign with a 2-0 home win over the Dominican Republic at the National Sports Centre in Devonshire Parish, Bermuda.
Jaden Masters opened the scoring in the 10th with a rocket from long range to send the home fans into ecstasy. This came just seconds after the Lady Warriors were close to taking the lead on an attempt from Eva Frazzoni going just wide.
Winibian Peralta attempted to equalize in the 20th from a free kick but the attempt was caught by goalkeeper Zakhari Turner.
Lucia Marte provided a dangerous hit across goal in the 32th as the Dominican Republic continued to search for the tying goal.
Masters earned her brace in the 45+1 on a Bermuda fast break, slipping the ball past goalkeeper Odaliana Gomez just outside the edge of the box.
Masters nearly completed her hat-trick in the 55th but Gomez made a big stop to keep the score within reach.
Turner ended the day with seven saves as she collected her first clean sheet of the tournament and Bermuda its first three points.
Barbados vs Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Barbados won 5-0 over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to start its campaign at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Shanice Stevenson opened the scoring in the 10th from a free kick chance. Goalkeeper Altica Benn tried to stop the attempt but the potent was too much to contain.
Rianna Cyrus extended the lead in the 19th with some nifty footwork inside the box to convert on a delivery from Shauntae Hinds.
Cyrus extended the lead again in the 22th by evading the keeper and hitting a precise ball outside the right side of the goal area. Stevenson provided the through ball into the box.
Prior to the halftime whistle, at 45+2, Cyrus completed her hat-trick off a free kick service from Stevenson.
Cheyanna Burnett-Griffith scored a fifth for Barbados in the 75th with a strike off the bouncing ball. Keinelle Johnson provided the cross from the left flank to find Burnett-Griffith inside the area.
The defense provided a strong outing in its home opener by holding Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to zero shots on target. Kamilla Burke made an important save outside the box during the closing minutes to preserve the clean sheet.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
