Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi once again thanked Graham Potter in a classy message to his predecessor after beating Chelsea on Saturday.
De Zerbi's men ran out 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge, coming from behind to ruin Frank Lampard 's homecoming as Chelsea interim boss. Lampard has been given the reins until the end of this season after the Blues sacked Potter, ending his miserable six-month tenure after choosing to leave Brighton in September.
The Seagulls called in De Zerbi, 43, to replace him and the highly-rated Italian coach has worked wonders on the south coast. Amid the acclaim, however, De Zerbi remains grateful for the foundations which Potter laid. "I have to say thanks to Graham Potter," the 43-year-old noted, not for the first time since taking over. "I found a very great and strong team and I am now trying to give my idea."
He added, via BBC Sport : "It's an amazing day for us. The result, the performance. This game gives more energy, more confidence, more enthusiasm to finish the season in the best way. Now we have to prepare for the semi-final. We’d like to play the final. To do that we'll have to win."
The semi-final in question is an FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Wembley next Sunday. Regardless of Brighton's impressive form, it would be a shock to see them beat the Red Devils - but perhaps not as much as what Chelsea are hoping to pull off in midweek.
The Blues require somewhat of a miracle to come from 2-0 down in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to reigning champions Real Madrid on Tuesday. Lampard remains optimistic that the magic of Stamford Bridge can give his players a lift, but they have their work cut out.
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"I've been at the club nine days, I don't like what I saw today," the former Chelsea midfielder admitted. "I'm not going to try and dress that up in any way. We have to be really honest about that. There should be a feeling when you play for Chelsea of pride involved. We have to do more for Tuesday. To get there, there needs to be a new energy. That needs to come back."
Lampard went on to say: "More than defeats, it's performance we have to talk about. Wins only come with performance and in terms of performance that was the most disappointing one because we were well beaten. In the basics of football — and it's a really good Brighton team so we must give them credit, they're a fantastic team and they can perform like that against pretty much anyone in the league — but we were short, a yard short, a tackle short, a fighting duel moment short.
"When that's not right you're not going to win games. You have to have the capacity to do that as well, as well as the desire and at the minute we’re falling short on that and we have to turn it around quickly."
