Roberto De Zerbi said he is frustrated his depleted Albion squad cannot compete against the Premier League’s best.

But he felt Valentin Barco was a positive from the 4-0 defeat by Manchester City.

The Seagulls head coach highlighted Barco as his team’s best player on the night – despite errors on two goals.

De Zerbi said: “We played against one of the best teams in the world, we tried to play wth our DNA, with our character, respecting our qualities.

“We conceded all the goals in a bad way.

“We made mistakes but we have to accept the mistakes because, for Valentin Barco, it was the first game in the Premier League.

“He was the best player on the pitch for us but he made mistakes on the third and fourth goals.

“Carlos Baleba suffered too much the game, the competition, but we are working for the future of the club.

“We have a lot of young players and we have to accept.

“Logically, we are disappointed for the result.

“I am disappointed for the result, I am frustrated because we can’t compete against the biggest teams in the Premier League at this moment and we have to be honest.”

Albion conceded the third goal when playing out from defence.

Asked whether his players would always be told to play that way, De Zerbi said: “If we are one player more, yes. If we are man to man, no.”