Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes Brighton’s impressive showing in Europe proves just how strong the Premier League has become.

The Seagulls travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday just three days on from a late win over Marseille that saw Roberto De Zerbi’s team qualify in top spot from their Europa League group.

Arsenal – who themselves won their Champions League group – were roundly beaten by Brighton in the corresponding fixture last season, with the 3-0 loss all-but ending their Premier League title hopes.

Arteta feels Brighton have “evolved” since last year and, along with West Ham and Aston Villa also topping their respective European groups, knows the standard in the Premier League makes any fixture a challenge.

Asked if the league is now tougher than ever, the Spaniard replied: “I think so.

“Not only with those teams but you have to really sweat and suffer to win any game in this league. You have examples every week, the margins of how teams are winning games is minimal.

“They are a really good side. Last year when we had the game under control, we conceded a goal and then the game completely broke up and we struggled, especially in the last 15 minutes of the game, so we have to play better and be very efficient, which is key against them.

“A lot of things happened that day as well. We were missing some key, key players and we lost Gabriel Martinelli straight away before half-time. A lot of things happened.

“The margin was none. Losing any points and the title was almost over and we had to cope with that. Now, the situation is very different because it’s still a marathon to go.”

Arteta will be back in the dugout for the game after watching from the stand as Arsenal lost at Aston Villa last time out having received three yellow cards this season.

An animated character on the touchline, Arteta may have met his match in De Zerbi – but he is a bit of a fan of his Brighton counterpart.

“We live the game as we feel it,” he added.

“When I was a player, it was very similar. Everybody has their own way of being, talking and communicating. I think it’s great. As long as we’re genuine, I think that’s great.

“I know him and have spoken to him a few times about different topics. I’ve followed his career since he was at Sassuolo, before he moved to Ukraine.

“It’s very impressive what he’s done, the way his teams play and what he’s accomplished in the Premier League as well.”

Roberto De Zerbi hailed Brighton’s last-gasp 1-0 victory over Marseille to top Europa League Group B as a “historic moment” in the club’s history.

Joao Pedro smashed in an 89th-minute winner at the Amex Stadium to make sure the Seagulls avoided the play-off round and instead slotted straight into the last 16.

Italian De Zerbi, who masterminded progressing from a group that included Ajax and AEK Athens along with the French 1993 European Cup winners, said: “We haven’t won anything…yet, but we are really happy and proud.

“I told the players before the game that the game was more important for us than them. Marseille are used to playing in European competitions.

“To finish at the top of the table is a historical moment.

“The atmosphere during the game was incredible. The crowd were a 12th player like I’ve never seen before.

“It is important because we don’t have to play an extra game.

“After going 2-0 down in Marseille in the first game, we changed everything and after that game we won four games in a row with four clean sheets in a row. That is incredible.”

De Zerbi dedicated the result to the players and fans of former club Foggia – who lost a Serie C title decider to Gennaro Gattuso-managed Pisa in 2016.

His revenge on the now Marseille boss came courtesy of Joao Pedro – who ended the group stage with six goals and the competition’s leading scorer.

The Brazilian was threaded through by Pascal Gross before skipping past a tackle and thumping into the top corner, making the Amex erupt and De Zerbi jump into the crowd.

De Zerbi said of his goalscorer: “Joao is playing very well. He is becoming a great player in mentality – which playing for his national team has helped.

“The qualities of Joao are clear. We want to help him become a great player.”

Joao Pedro added: “I’m very happy. These are the best moments of my life. Thank you to my team-mates, they always support me.

“I’m very happy to be top scorer in the Europa League. To be top of the table, in the league or top scorer, you need to keep going through hard work.”

Marseille just needed a draw to avoid a play-off match against one of the teams that finished third in the Champions League.

Jonathan Clauss and Amine Harit both hit the woodwork before the visitors parked the bus, only to be undone by Brighton’s late winner.

Boss Gattuso said: “We knew what type of match this would be. We knew what level Brighton play at and the quality they have.

“We prepared to face them but their level of quality was too strong.

“We didn’t lack courage but it is the quality in the end that showed.”

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is not surprised by James Milner’s longevity and said his old team-mate is perhaps the hardest-working player he has ever known.

Kompany will come up against Milner on Saturday when the Clarets head south to take on Brighton, the club Milner joined in the summer after eight years at Liverpool.

The 37-year-old has made 13 appearances for the Seagulls despite some injury niggles, lending his wealth of experience as Roberto De Zerbi’s squad balances the demands of European football with their domestic duties for the first time.

“He’s older than me!” joked Kompany, who is three months Milner’s junior. “I’m not surprised and if there’s one guy that was going to do that it was going to be Milly. His longevity – it’s because he’s probably the hardest working player I’ve ever played with.

“I’ve seen his journey from being this winger, attacking midfielder, central midfielder, full-back. And every single time people would have bet against him. But if you know him and his personality, you would never bet a penny against him…

“There might have been loads of players who are better than James, but how many have had his career? Very, very few.”

Milner’s medal collection includes a Champions League crown with Liverpool and three Premier League titles. He won two of those alongside Kompany at City before joining Liverpool on a free transfer in 2015.

That exit left a sour taste among many in the blue half of Manchester, but not Kompany.

“You always want your best players to stay but for his career it was a great move,” he said. “I’ve always wanted him to do well.”

Saturday’s trip to the Amex Stadium will bring back happy memories for Kompany, who lifted the Premier League trophy there in 2019 in his final game in English football.

“It feels like a lifetime ago, the job I’m in consumes you that much,” he said. “But, yeah, it was four-and-a-half years ago – it feels like it was 20 years ago.

“I’d be rubbish if I was in that profession now. But they are good memories and maybe in the future – maybe one Christmas – those moments can be replayed with the kids.”

City won 4-1 that day to pip Liverpool – and Milner – to the title by one point with a run of 14 straight victories, perhaps fortunate to come across a Brighton side who had only ensured their own top-flight survival the weekend before when Cardiff lost to Crystal Palace.

But the club Burnley will face on Saturday have come a long, long way since then, and are seen by many as the model club for anyone wanting to challenge the Premier League’s top sides.

Kompany pointed out Burnley were a model themselves for a long time, having held their own in the top flight for seven years despite limited resources, and said it was not as simple as trying to copy what someone has done.

“If this is a path, then I don’t think we should compare ourselves to them, absolutely not,” he said.

“We’re at a completely different stage, but there is a template that’s taken time for them to develop and that’s obviously allowing them to compete above their means.

“That should be a goal for any team in this league.”

Mauricio Pochettino admitted Moises Caicedo’s international commitments with Ecuador have complicated the midfielder’s early Chelsea career.

The club paid a British record £115million to sign the 22-year-old from Brighton in August but frequent trips to South America to play for his country have limited the time he has been able to spend working with coaching staff at Cobham.

He has played 14 times in all competitions since his arrival, recovering from a red card on his first appearance against West Ham to become a steady if not yet spectacular performer in the heart of midfield.

Since joining Chelsea he has been called up three times by Ecuador and played in six matches, with each international window requiring a more than 11,000-mile round trip, sometimes not arriving back in London until the early hours of the day before Chelsea’s next game.

He revealed in an interview with the club’s website this week that he spent much of his first 10 days in England alone in a hotel room in tears and suffering from homesickness, after joining the Seagulls from Independiente del Valle in his home country in January 2021 during the Covid pandemic.

Restrictions on movement for people arriving into the UK meant he was unable to meet his Brighton team-mates until completing a period of quarantine, during which he phoned his parents in Ecuador asking to return home.

He recovered to become one of the standout successes of the team that Roberto De Zerbi led to a club-best sixth-placed Premier League finish last campaign, sparking a bidding war between Liverpool and Chelsea in which Pochettino’s side were victorious.

The manager reiterated a call for patience as Caicedo navigates life at Chelsea amid a hectic World Cup qualifying schedule internationally.

“When we signed him we knew what is going to happen,” said Pochettino. “He’s an emotional guy, an emotional player that needs time to recover.

“It didn’t help also the international games, travelling to Ecuador, to South America. That is really tough every single month, two or three weeks then go 10, 12 days away, then come back sometimes with some injury.

“It’s not an excuse but it’s the reality. Now we need time. Of course I say (the team) always need to perform. That is our mentality. But in some situations like his, we need to give time and not to be unfair in the way that we assess him.”

Caicedo has formed a reliable partnership in midfield with Enzo Fernandez, who the club paid a then-British record £107m to sign from Benfica in January while Graham Potter was in charge.

Pochettino revealed that the Argentinian World Cup winner asked for extra time off during the summer due to fatigue and was granted permission to join up late with the squad on their United States tour.

“It’s different because Enzo arrived last January, he was with different coaches here,” said the manager. “He asked when we arrived for a period of holiday because he was tired after the World Cup and everything. He joined us in North Carolina.

“I cannot judge the past. Only I can talk from when we arrived (at Chelsea). We expect all, not only (these two), all the players, even the ones not too much involved, to push their level.”

Brighton secured a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League after Joao Pedro’s second-half penalty earned an unconvincing 1-0 victory away to 10-man AEK Athens.

In-form forward Pedro converted his fifth goal of the competition in the 55th minute to guarantee the Seagulls a top-two finish in Group B.

Albion were second best before the VAR-awarded spot-kick and fortunate not to fall behind in the closing stages of the first half when AEK forward Steven Zuber struck a post.

The lively hosts were forced to play the final 25 minutes a man down following Mijat Gacinovic’s dismissal for a second yellow card.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men will vie for first place in the pool – and automatic qualification for the last 16 – when Marseille visit the Amex Stadium in the final round of fixtures in two weeks’ time.

Brighton’s maiden European campaign was launched with an underwhelming 3-2 defeat to the Greek champions in September.

Yet the Premier League club arrived at the AEK Arena in control of their own destiny thanks to a battling comeback draw in Marseille and back-to-back wins over Ajax.

Head coach De Zerbi made four changes from Saturday’s 3-2 success at Nottingham Forest, including recalling match-winner Pedro, and saw his injury-hit side start in the ascendancy.

Evan Ferguson was twice blocked as he threatened inside two minutes, while AEK defender Domagoj Vida came close to a calamitous own goal with a firm back pass which had goalkeeper Cican Stankovic scampering across his line.

But the disjointed Seagulls faded from the encouraging start and were in regular danger of falling behind.

AEK forward Zuber forced Albion keeper Bart Verbruggen to turn over a powerful drive before heading narrowly wide from the resultant corner.

Brighton were then lucky not to concede just before the break amid relentless home pressure.

Switzerland international Zuber worked space inside the 18-yard box with quick feet before seeing his angled drive deflect off Lewis Dunk and rattle the left post, with Gacinovic unable to head home the rebound.

Verbruggen was forced to save from Gacinovic after the restart before Brighton snatched the lead against the run of play during a pivotal spell in the contest.

Swiss referee Sandro Scharer initially waved play on when Pedro went to ground under pressure from AEK captain Damian Szymanski before pointing to the spot after viewing a replay of the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

Brazilian forward Pedro duly dispatched his sixth penalty of the season – and third against AEK – by sending Stankovic the wrong way from 12 yards to back up his weekend brace at Forest as a substitute.

Brighton had barely threatened before the opener and their cause was further strengthened just 10 minutes later when Serbia midfielder Gacinovic over-ran the ball and raked his studs into Joel Veltman to receive a second booking.

Seagulls striker Ferguson threatened to double the lead before being repelled as he tried to round Stankovic having been sent clear.

AEK midfielder Orbelin Pineda then flashed wide as the home side pushed for a leveller but Brighton, despite an uninspiring display, held on relatively comfortably to ensure their European adventure continues.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi made no apology for celebrating his side’s 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest like they had won the Champions League final.

De Zerbi sprinted straight to the away fans at the City Ground, without shaking counterpart Steve Cooper’s hand, after his side ended a six-game winless run in a drama-filled Premier League encounter.

The Seagulls looked primed for an easy three points after a tidy finish from Evan Ferguson and Joao Pedro’s double, the second from the penalty spot, put them 3-1 up after Anthony Elanga’s early goal for Forest.

But the complexion of the game changed when VAR advised referee Anthony Taylor to give Forest a penalty, with Brighton skipper Lewis Dunk seeing red for his over-zealous protest.

Morgan Gibbs-White scored from the spot but Forest could not find a leveller and Brighton held on for a much-needed win, which moves them into the top seven.

“I want to explain our celebration, it wasn’t disrespectful to the opponent because I am used to living inside of football, but we are suffering a lot with injuries, we lost two players in the first half, we suffered a red card, we lost two points in the last games against Sheffield United and Fulham, the last win in the Premier League was at the end of September.

“We are suffering a lot because it is one of the toughest times in my career. It was a big, big celebration.

“We are very happy and I am very proud of the character and attitude we showed in a very tough moment. Without 10 players if Brighton can compete in two competitions, seventh in the league, and in the Europa League with Ajax, AEK Athens and Marseille, it is difficult.

“We celebrated it like the final in the Champions League, it was not the Champions League, but the way we won the game with 10 players without the captain was excellent.”

Dunk received a straight red card for foul and abusive language following Taylor’s decision to award Forest a penalty, which came 21 seconds after he was booked for encroaching while Taylor checked the VAR monitor.

De Zerbi admitted Dunk apologised to his team-mates but will not face any internal disciplinary action.

“I have not spoken yet with Lewis, he is a good guy, maybe he made a mistake,” De Zerbi added. “For me the situation is not clear. We have to accept the referee’s decision.

“I always accept the referee’s decision. Dunky is a fan of Brighton, he is not a simple player. We can understand his emotion and his mistakes.

“I don’t like rules. I am not a policeman, I am coach. He said sorry to everyone, he has understood his mistake.”

Forest boss Cooper said would have liked the opportunity to shake De Zerbi’s hand at full-time.

“I have not seen him. I don’t want to get into that, to be fair,” he said.

“If you ask me I am a British coach, I have been brought up in always shaking hands after games and showing respect and trying to win and lose with dignity.

“I am not saying he has not done that, you’ll have to ask him. If you ask me about what I will do, I will always shake hands.

“But I understand that elsewhere it is a bit different. That is how it is.”

Roberto De Zerbi admitted he does not like “80 per cent of Premier League referees” after 10-man Brighton were held to a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.

Simon Adingra had put the Seagulls ahead with a brilliant solo run but the game changed on Mahmoud Dahoud’s red card in the 69th minute.

Midfielder Dahoud stamped on Ben Osborn’s Achilles, with Adam Webster putting through his own goal moments later to take the Blades off the bottom of the table for the first time since September 23.

De Zerbi, who was also booked for his touchline antics, did not disagree with the red card shown by John Brooks but said: “I am honest and clear… I don’t like 80 per cent of English referees.

“That isn’t a new opinion. I don’t like them. I don’t like their behaviour on the pitch.

“England is the only country where when there is VAR, you are not sure that the decision is right. In other countries, you have to be sure 100 per cent that the decision taken is right. In England, no, and I am not able to understand.”

De Zerbi is now on his longest run without a league win as Brighton manager, with his side six matches without taking three points.

“We are spending time in an unlucky period,” said the Italian. “I think we have lost four points; two against Fulham and two today.

“After the red card, I didn’t like the team.

“There wasn’t a game until the red card. There was only one team on the pitch. Brighton could have won the game two or three nil, but after the red card the game changed.

“After the red card we can say other things but the situation with one player less, we lost order and our style.”

Adingra went on a mazy run before finishing after a give-and-go with Facundo Buonanotte in the fifth minute. But after the red card, Jayden Bogle’s powerful cross was diverted into his own goal by Webster.

It was the first time United had strung two games without defeat together in the top flight since July 2020 – not that Paul Heckingbottom is worried after a first away point of the season and getting off the bottom.

He said: “It is irrelevant – maybe getting off the bottom is important because people keep mentioning it but I’m not bothered. Not yet.

“What is pleasing is how we’ve played against a good team.

“It is always about the points. I can give lots of reasons why we haven’t picked up more points this season: the way we started the season, final moments in games where we could and should have.

“But until you get them they are just excuses. It is about the points and we want to keep picking up the points.

“There have been moments in every game but in the last two games it has been us being the stronger team at the end and that is what I want to see. It gives us a huge lift.”

Roberto De Zerbi admitted he is worried about Brighton’s growing injury problems after they took control of their Europa League destiny with a commanding 2-0 win away to Ajax.

Goals either side of half-time from Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra sealed victory in the Johan Cruyff Arena against the Dutch giants, who despite a change of manager showed little more ambition than they had in losing at the Amex Stadium two weeks previously.

But the result was marred by the loss of three players to injury as Lewis Dunk, James Milner and the returning Pervis Estupinan were all forced off.

De Zerbi has previously spoken of the toll that a first season in Europe has taken on his squad, with a hectic schedule having put pressure on a relatively small pool as the absentee list has lengthened.

Estupinan, who has already missed much of the campaign, left the field just 12 minutes after making his return as a substitute in the second half, with Milner also having gone off in the eighth minute.

Captain Dunk was withdrawn at half-time after pulling up with what looked like a groin problem, though the manager said he suspected it was not a serious concern.

Still, De Zerbi emphasised the havoc that injuries continue to wreak on his team.

“I’m very worried but it’s a problem we are fighting in this moment,” he said. “We have a lot of injuries, especially in the full-back position. For that we have to find another solution. We play Sunday another crucial game (against Sheffield United) for us and we want to win.

“I don’t know (about Dunk) at the moment. I think it’s not a big problem, but he’s played so many games in a row. We have to understand better the (injury).”

Despite the injuries, Brighton were able to celebrate yet another landmark under De Zerbi as they won for the first time away from home in Europe.

There were particularly fine displays in attack from goalscorers Fati and Adingra, whilst Evan Ferguson and Joao Pedro – the Europa League’s joint-top scorer at start of play with four – also impressed.

“I’m really delighted for the result, for the performance, for our fans,” said De Zerbi. “They were incredible and we are very happy because we made them happy.

“We have three top players – Ansu Fati, Joao Pedro and Evan Ferguson. We expect always a great job in ball possession, in the last 20 metres. But they are very young.

“Today I’m very happy for the performance of Joao. He fought 90 minutes. He didn’t score but he played a great game.

“I’m satisfied but I expect always more and more. For Ansu, he played very well in the first half but after the second goal I think he could play better. He could score the third goal.”

Roberto De Zerbi stressed the importance of changing the mood at Brighton after they beat Ajax 2-0 at the Amex Stadium to claim a first European victory.

It ended a run of five games without a win as the club have struggled with injuries during their debut Europa League campaign, though their European hopes were firmly revived here with a comprehensive triumph over the four-time European champions.

From the first minute Brighton outclassed a poor Ajax side, who just three days after sacking manager Maurice Steijn amidst the club’s worst-ever start to an Eredivisie season, barely mustered an attack.

Joao Pedro tapped in on the rebound after Karou Mitoma’s shot had been parried, breaking the deadlock minutes before half-time and handing Brighton a deserved lead.

The advantage was doubled eight minutes after the break when on-loan Barcelona forward Ansu Fati took a brilliant first touch to come inside his defender and rolled the ball into the corner after being set up by Simon Adingra.

It was a first win in three attempts on the team’s debut European campaign, lifting them to third in Group B and to within a point of leaders Marseille with whom they drew in France three weeks ago.

A win in the return against Ajax in Amsterdam in November will put them in a commanding position to qualify for the knockout rounds ahead of their final two group games.

“The focus today has been the first win in European competition for Brighton, for our fans, for our club, for our owner and for ourselves,” said De Zerbi. “We didn’t deserve to lose against AEK (Athens), and today we wanted 150 per cent the victory.

“We played a great game with high quality. We could score more goals, but the most important thing is we didn’t concede and we closed the game with a clean sheet.

“For us in this moment, it’s important to change the mood, to start winning games, to start to play better because we (have not been) playing like last season.”

The manager praised the contributions of his two goalscorers, with Pedro out in front as the team’s leading European scorer with four goals in three games, whilst Fati also continued his adaption to life in England after moving from La Liga.

“Both are great players, (but) I think both can play better,” said De Zerbi. “We are helping a lot Ansu because he didn’t play so many games last year, for him he’s started a new football life. He’s an incredible player, Joao Pedro as well.

“They’re very young, we have to help them to progress, but they have to help themselves first of all, working hard during the week, and during the game. But they are both incredible players.”

De Zerbi also reflected on the difficulty of balancing a hectic schedule after Solly March and Danny Welbeck joined a lengthy injury list following Saturday’s loss to Manchester City.

He added: “The level of difficulty is more or less the same (between the Premier League and Europa League), but it’s tougher this season because after 48, 72 hours we have another important game against Fulham.

“This is the challenge that is most difficult for us. We have to accept the honour, because we made history for our club.

“It’s unbelievable and it’s proud for us to be part of this history, but in the same way we have to fight and to adapt, be ready to fight and enjoy and make happy our fans. Playing in Europe for Brighton is a big, big thing.”

Brighton enjoyed a comprehensive first victory in the Europa League as a goal in either half from Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati eased them to a 2-0 win against Ajax at the Amex Stadium.

It took until the final minutes of a first half that Brighton had dominated for the breakthrough to arrive, Pedro tapping home on the rebound after an opening period in which Ajax – second bottom of the Eredivisie – did little more than look to preserve parity, as Brighton dictated things from the first minute.

The Dutch side have endured their worst-ever start to a league season, and after sacking manager Maurice Steijn on Monday they went down with barely a whimper, Fati’s goal early in the second half laying bare the gulf between Roberto De Zerbi’s team and the four-time European champions.

It was a first half that Brighton controlled but were for the most part frustrated by an organised, obdurate Ajax. Pedro wanted a penalty for a shove in the back inside of three minutes, waved away by the referee with barely a glance, before Brighton’s top scorer on their European campaign tucked the only real chance of the opening exchanges wide of the near post from Karou Mitoma’s cut-back.

Pedro appealed again for a spot-kick, this time with more gusto, when he appeared to be bundled to the ground by Jorrel Hato. The defender was adjudged narrowly to have reached Mitoma’s through-ball ahead of the Brighton striker as the Amex howled for a penalty.

The hosts’ central-defensive pair spent much of the first half 10 yards inside the Ajax half. The plan to lure out the visitors and exploit the resulting space was resisted by caretaker boss Hedwiges Maduro’s team, who seemed content to sacrifice attacking ambition for the sake of clogging the gaps in between their lines.

Simon Adingra had the best chance of the opening half-hour when he lashed a right-footed effort over the bar from Lewis Dunk’s header back across goal, as Brighton’s threat was stymied by Ajax in what was a ponderous first half from De Zerbi’s side.

Mitoma and Pedro’s partnership looked the most likely avenue of success. The pair carved out the clearest opening yet when Pedro dashed into a channel down the right to reach his team-mate’s threaded ball and drove low at goal, only for goalkeeper Diant Ramaj to beat it away with a strong right hand.

The breakthrough came three minutes before the break. Dunk’s pass was weighted into the path of Mitoma who dashed into the box and dragged the ball inside Josip Sutalo to make space to shoot. His effort was pushed out by Ramaj, but only to the feet of the onrushing Pedro who continued his fine European scoring run to end a frustrating half for Brighton on a high.

Fati’s goal, slotted home brilliantly eight minutes after the break, cemented Brighton’s superiority. Adingra began the move from midfield, patiently stewarding the ball until Fati’s run was made, checking inside and feeding the on-loan Barcelona forward who beat his man with a devastating first touch and dispatched deftly beyond Ramaj.

The game had sprung suddenly to life. Fati was inches from making it three and burying Ajax, his driven effort licking inches wide of the post, before Steven Berghuis at the other end struck the upright with Jason Steele beaten, a rare foray forward from the visitors.

It was to be the closest the 2019 Champions League semi-finalists came, as Brighton’s debut European season finally got going in earnest.

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi insists the upcoming clash against Manchester City on Saturday afternoon is “bad news” despite the Premier League champions’ recent form.

The Seagulls are aiming to break their recent run of four games in all competitions without a victory, but in their way stand Pep Guardiola’s side.

City have been going through a tough spell themselves, according to their lofty standards, losing three of their last four matches in all competitions, but return to the Etihad Stadium where they have a 100 per cent record so far this season.

Asked whether it is a good time to face the treble winners, De Zerbi admitted the opposite.

He told a press conference: “It is bad news. The big teams are not used to losing three games in the last four, but anyway we have to think for ourselves.

“We have to improve in the quality of the play because we are not playing enough for our level and to compete for our target. We have to understand if we want to win or want to compete we have to play better than the last games.

“Without the quality of the play, we can’t reach any target and we have to be clear.”

Brighton have gone from strength to strength since De Zerbi walked through the door at the Amex Stadium, having delivered European football to the fans for the first time in the club’s history.

Many have compared the Italian’s achievements so far to the boss in the opposite dugout and De Zerbi admits he would love to do what Guardiola has done throughout his managerial career.

“I’m happy when I listen to Pep speak about me. I feel a bit embarrassed, but we are a work in progress,” De Zerbi added.

“I think we are playing well, fighting well but we have to improve, progress and adapt a new challenge and new season.

“Pep is a boss. I would like to do something the same because for many years he won in Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man City, but the way which he won is different to other coaches. The world will remember him not only for the victory but the way he wins, it is unique.”

Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland has not found the back of the net in his last two league appearances which many fans have not been used to since his arrival into the league.

But De Zerbi is extra wary of Haaland’s threat as he looks to break his mini duck.

He added: “The big strikers when they are not scoring so many goals, they are more angry to score and have a chance to score, but its not only Haaland because Doku is a great player for them, and Alvarez.”

Earlier on Friday, Brighton announced highly-rated winger Kaoru Mitoma had signed a new contract.

The 26-year-old, who arrived in 2021, has been a key player in Brighton’s success and will now stay on the south coast until 2027.

De Zerbi said: “It’s great news. Kaoru is our top player.”

Technical director David Weir added: “Ensuring that a player of Kaoru’s quality will remain with us for the long term is fantastic news. Kaoru adapted to the Premier League last season and has quickly become one of our most important players.”

Roberto De Zerbi praised an “incredible” reaction from Brighton after they recovered from two goals down at the Stade Velodrome to salvage a point against Marseille and keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.

Substitute Joao Pedro scored an 88th-minute penalty to earn a 2-2 draw that kept Brighton in contention in Group B following their defeat to AEK Athens two weeks ago, the striker slotting home coolly after Tariq Lamptey had been tripped.

A draw had looked an unlikely outcome when Marseille struck twice in the space two first-half minutes, the first a low finish from former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba, then a strike by Jordan Veretout that went through the hands of goalkeeper Jason Steele after Lewis Dunk had given the ball away with a poor miss-kick.

Brighton weathered the Marseille storm, too often giving the ball away cheaply when in possession but surviving to go in only two down at the break, before launching a comeback early in the second period when Pascal Gross slotted home from Kaoru Mitoma’s cutback.

From there on De Zerbi’s team were on top, and it came as just rewards when Pedro was given the chance to level from the spot and salvage their hope of progressing to the knockout rounds.

The manager said he was concerned by the way his injury-hit side have played recently but praised their powers of recovery in the south of France, particularly coming off the back of Saturday’s 6-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

“I want to be honest more than other days, other games,” De Zerbi said. “I think we are not playing well, it’s a very tough period for us in this moment. It’s difficult to show our quality like last season, like a month ago.

“It’s a period where we have to work, but after that in football it’s important the quality of the play and the players, but it’s important playing with heart, passion and the right behaviour.

“I’m really proud of the performance today, of the players. After the defeat 6-1 at Villa Park and the second goal to close the first half at 2-0, this reaction is incredible. For it I am very happy.”

Brighton appeared stagestruck during the first half inside a stadium that rocked with the noise of a vociferous home support.

De Zerbi admitted the atmosphere had been a factor in knocking his players out of their usual rhythm that has seen them win five of their first seven Premier League games this season.

“I know we are not a big team yet,” he said. “We are a small club. We reached the European competition playing very well, showing the incredible qualities of the players, but it’s possible we suffered too much from the atmosphere. (It was) the first game (away) in Europe for Brighton, the players and the fans.

“I’m not a big coach, I’m not used to playing in this competition. We have to adapt, we have to get used to playing in this competition from this moment.

“We can lose the game but we can’t lose our DNA, our spirit, our bravery and passion. This season will be important to progress, to adapt to playing in different competitions, playing three games every week.

“Today we played not more than 30 per cent of our potential.”

Marseille manager Gennaro Gattuso acknowledged his team lost their way after a dominant opening and gave Brighton the encouragement they needed in order to recover.

“The pressure we applied in the first 65 minutes was (good),” he said. “Then we started to press in a different way, not the best way. We should have paid more attention to them.

“With Brighton, if you don’t press well and do the good things, they will punish you. I think the players gave 65 minutes where they were able to press high but it was still not enough.”

Chelsea earned respite from their difficult start to the season under Mauricio Pochettino as Nicolas Jackson’s second-half goal gave them a 1-0 win against Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Roberto De Zerbi’s high-flying visitors dominated possession for much of the game but home fans witnessed their side put on an effective counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea had gone three games without scoring, but that run ended when Jackson struck early in the second half after being set up by Cole Palmer, planting a composed finish into the corner to ease his personal struggles in front of goal.

Pochettino made five changes from the side beaten by Aston Villa on Sunday, with Palmer brought in for his first start.

The former Manchester City forward began in an advanced three alongside Mykhailo Mudryk and Ian Maatsen, but was at his most effective when dropping to receive the ball deep, seeking out the critical final-third passes that have eluded Chelsea and meant they have scored just five league goals in six games.

Jackson had an early sight of goal, winning the ball on the edge of Brighton’s box and hitting a left-footed drive that deflected over.

Robert Sanchez was one of three former Brighton players in the Chelsea line-up and twice in the first period the goalkeeper almost gifted his former side the lead, first passing the ball straight to the feet of Joao Pedro who chipped it inches over the bar, then putting Moises Caicedo under pressure in a central position. He was dispossessed by Carlo Baleba, who rolled the ball to Ansu Fati to fire wide from the best opening of the half.

Brighton had enjoyed 66 per cent possession by the half-hour mark, leaving Chelsea to look for openings on the break.

The lively Mudryk ran in behind from Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass, only for Tariq Lamptey to slide in with an expertly timed intervention.

Minutes later, Mudryk turned provider, latching on to Levi Colwill’s forceful tackle that sent the ball spinning upfield and crossing low to the near post for Palmer to side-foot wide under pressure from Igor Julio.

Chelsea had endured their worst start to a season in 45 years but relief looked finally to have arrived five minutes after half-time.

Maatsen received the ball centrally and laid it into the feet of Palmer, who had been a lurking first-half threat playing between the lines. He tucked it in cleverly to Jackson, who wrong-footed Bart Verbruggen to guide home his second goal for the club.

It was just the third time this season that Pochettino had seen his team take the lead, and they should have gone further in front when Mudryk’s energetic midfield pressing won the ball and set Jackson away, but this time the goalkeeper got the best of their duel after spreading himself well.

Home fans thought Jackson had scored the second goal his performance deserved when he slotted home from Palmer’s pass, but the offside flag cut short celebrations.

Brighton had late chances to level, first when Pervis Estupinan collected a raking ball and ran it to the byline, but no one had gambled as his cross fizzed across goal.

Pedro then thumped a volley over the bar from Axel Disasi’s weak headed clearance but Chelsea held on to finally hand Pochettino room to breathe.

Roberto De Zerbi claimed Brighton’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth was one of their worst performances since he took charge.

The Seagulls trailed to Dominic Solanke’s opportunist strike but went in level at half-time thanks to a Milos Kerkez own goal.

Boss De Zerbi, who had made nine changes to his starting line-up from Thursday’s Europe League defeat by AEK Athens, sent on Ansu Fati and Kaoru Mitoma at half-time.

And the pair had an instant impact, combining for an exquisite goal just 15 seconds into the second half, with Mitoma applying the finishing touch.

Japan winger Mitoma then wrapped up the victory with a late header as Brighton leapt up to third in the Premier League.

“Today we played one of the worst games in my time. In two, three or four situations we were lucky,” said De Zerbi.

“Bournemouth played a great first half. In the second we played better but not our best level. But we knew before the game it was one of the most difficult games of the season.

“Today was the first time we played after playing in the Europa League. I changed a lot of players, maybe too many.

“We need to adapt as we are not used to playing three games a week. This season we will play three games every week. I am really pleased because we won with character and patience and not the style and quality of play. Character is maybe the most important part of football.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola felt his side should have had a penalty before the equaliser when Marcus Tavernier was caught by the flailing arm of Simon Adingra.

“He slaps Tavernier in the face. People watching on TV can see what happened and they wonder why it’s not a penalty – it’s pretty obvious,” he said.

“We were winning 1-0 at the time and those decisions are very important. When you are winning you have to make more damage.”

Bournemouth remain winless under Iraola six games into the season.

Iraola added: “I think it was a tough one, this game. Especially the way we played the first half, to end the half 1-1 was difficult. We were in control of the game.

“Then after the first play of the second half we were losing the game and we had been playing well.

“We had chances after that. But it is much more difficult to play Brighton when they are winning and don’t need to attack.”

Roberto De Zerbi congratulated his Brighton players in the dressing room for their performance despite losing 3-2 to AEK Athens on their European debut.

Despite dominating the ball and dictating the shape of the game in wet and difficult conditions at the Amex Stadium, Brighton were undone by an AEK side who made the best of what little they created and were clinical when their moments came.

First, the right-back Djibril Sidibe dashed into the box unmarked at a corner and flew into a superb diving header that nestled in the corner.

It was a lead they twice should have doubled when striker Levi Garcia went through on goal, first denied by goalkeeper Jason Steele then sliding the ball beyond the post as two glorious chances were wasted.

Brighton hit back through a penalty from Joao Pedro after a VAR check, the same means by which they levelled for a second time after the break. In between, Mijat Gacinovic had restored AEK’s lead, sliding in at a free-kick to finish from near the penalty spot.

Brighton were missing the injured Lewis Dunk in defence and his absence was felt again when substitute Ezequiel Ponce was given space on the counter-attack to win it for the Greek champions late on.

“We conceded three goals,” said De Zerbi. “Two goals in set pieces and one incredible goal, the third. We made some mistakes in the (final third) of the pitch, for example the chance of Joao Pedro in the second half, or the chance for Igor in the first half. But in terms of quality of play we played a very good game, I think.

“I’m really proud for the performance. I think we showed not the right experience, or maybe not the same experience as AEK Athens.

“But for the rest I think we played with personality and with the right attitude. We controlled the game, we dominated the game. And we are sad for the result.

“We are sad because we couldn’t make happy our fans, ourselves, our club. But we have to analyse the performance and the performance was good.

“We can learn. We have to learn. We can improve, but it’s difficult to accept this defeat. I congratulated the players 10 minutes ago, because I can’t be happy when we win at Old Trafford and sad today if the performances are both good performances.

“We have to know, and we knew before the game, that AEK had two situations where they could score; set-pieces and counter-attack. And when we’re defending set-pieces against this team, we have to be more focused, more with the right attitude, more smart to defend the set-pieces.”

De Zerbi confirmed that Dunk and striker Evan Ferguson had been ruled out of contention earlier on Thursday.

“Dunk couldn’t play because after the game with Man United he felt a problem,” he added. “This afternoon Evan had a temperature, he is ill.”

AEK manager Matias Almeyda reflected on a win which he hoped will help cement his team’s reputation as a serious European force this season.

“We work on the basis of playing a type of football based on team work,” he said. “I live my life the way I manage the team. I like to respect people and I like to be respected. We want to be respected in Europe and we wanted to get a result to gain that respect.

“We have been working together for over a year. We came here in order to play our usual game. The opposition on a number of occasions forced us to play a different kind of game. But it’s spirit of the team, a fighting spirit, and that’s what we have managed to achieve. To keep on fighting.”