Roberto De Zerbi said ‘there is a God of football’ after Brighton beat Manchester United with a 99th-minute penalty on Thursday night – less than two weeks after their Wembley Stadium heartache.
Brighton lost to United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, Solly March missing the decisive kick in the shootout.
Yet Alexis Mac Allister buried his winner from the spot here after Luke Shaw’s handball.
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‘There is a God of football,’ De Zerbi said. ‘We deserved to win the semi-final but lost on penalties. Today we won with a penalty. In both games we played better than United. The last result was unfair.’
Asked why he did not watch Mac Allister’s penalty, De Zerbi added: ‘It was a very tough moment. We dominated the game.
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi celebrates their dramatic win over Manchester United
Alexis Mac Allister scored a last gasp penalty to help Brighton defeat Man United 1-0
Luke Shaw had conceded a stoppage time spot-kick for a careless handball under pressure
From the spot, Mac Allister blasted the crucial winning goal in the ninth minute of added time
‘We have to play another six games – six very tough games. We need to win. If we don’t win against Everton (on Monday), we lose these three points.’
The game descended into chaos as referee Andre Marriner struggled to keep control.
He did not see the handball by Shaw in stoppage time but was alerted to it by VAR Andy Madley.
‘Every defeat is a disappointment,’ United boss Erik Ten Hag said. ‘But in the end, to lose in the last second is annoying.
‘In the end, we gave away the goal. We have to do our jobs to the end. We lose control and we lost the game. If you can’t win, don’t lose.’