Roberto De Zerbi said “there was only one team on the pitch” for much of Albion’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United, writes Anujit Vijayakumar.

But he was unhappy with their performance and game-management after Mahmoud Dahoud was sent off.

Speaking about the red card and whether it changed the game, De Zerbi said: “Yes, I think, yes.

“We are spending an unlucky period. We lost four points, two against Fulham and two against Sheffield. We can improve, yes.

“We can improve, when we have the chance to close the game, to kill the game.

“When there are five, 10, 15 or 20 minutes where we have to defend, we have to suffer, but we have to suffer with more order and more energy.

“Because after the red card, I didn’t like the team. We lost order and we defended in a bad way, and we could do better.”

He shared his opinion on whether the Sheffield United performance caught him by surprise, saying: “Yes, yes, they played well, but until the red card I think, we played very well.

“We deserved to win with more goals, and after the red card it’s another game.”

De Zerbi also provided his insight on the game.

He said: “We have to analyse the game well. There wasn’t a game until the red card, only one team on the pitch.

“Brighton could win the game two, three nil and after the red card the game changed.

“But 11 against 11, there was only one team on the pitch, and we played a great game, and we have to analyse that game.

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