Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola praised Brighton and its coach Roberto de Gerby after the team guaranteed participation in the European Championship next season in 2023/24.
Under his 43-year-old Italian coach, Brighton are sixth in the Premier League with 61 points.
The “Citizens” team will meet their opponents Brighton on Wednesday evening in a postponed match from the 32nd round of the English Premier League.
In a pre-match press conference, Guardiola said: “Congratulations to Brighton for this fantastic achievement to qualify for the European Championship. His type”.
He continued, “When he (Roberto De Zerbi) arrived in the Premier League, I felt the impact he would have on the Championship would be huge, but I didn’t expect him to do it in such a short space of time.”
Pep Guardiola added: “They create on average 20-25 chances a game and control the ball in a way we haven’t seen for a long time, and the goalkeeper is like a midfielder.”
And the Manchester City coach concluded: “Brighton are a team who know when to pass the ball and when to pass it. They know how to move at the right time and they have the right rhythm to pass.”
In September 2022, De Gerby took charge of Brighton after Graham Potter left for Chelsea.
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