Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi has warned that his side will not be travelling to Wembley for next month's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United just to be 'tourists'.
The Seagulls, who defeated United 2-1 at Old Trafford on the opening day of the Premier League season back in August, booked their place in the last four of the competition for the first time since 2019 with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Grimsby Town at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Facing a League Two side that had pulled off several scalps en route to the quarter-finals, it would have been easy for the Seagulls to become the latest victim of the Mariners' fairytale run. However, Deniz Undav's sixth-minute opener soon settled any nerves the home side may have had.
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Brighton, although they had to be patient before they added to their tally, doubled their lead until six minutes into the start of the second half, thanks to youngster Evan Ferguson's first of the game. He added his second of the afternoon 19 minutes later, ahead of Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma getting in on the act to complete the rout.
Brighton have since discovered that they will face United at Wembley next month for a place in what they hope will be their first FA Cup final appearance since losing to the Reds in a replay back in 1983. And with the prize now within touching distance, De Zerbi has made it clear that they will not be appearing in the last four just to make up the numbers.
"We started well with the goal and then we could have been better," said De Zerbi. "But I know it's difficult when you come up against a lower-league team, to not be focussed 100 per cent.
"But the performance of the second half was a lot better. At half time I told the players to play with more passion, attitude and to be stronger.
"We want to arrive at Wembley in the best position, not as tourists."
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