by Roberto De Zerbi, like his team in Brighton, admitted that he is still a work in progress as a manager. The Italians looked set to settle for a place in the Europa League play-offs in their opening campaign after being frustrated in their efforts to overhaul Marseille at the top of their group by their canny opponents.
But a dramatic late strike from João Pedro and his sixth goal of the tournament ensured they went straight through to the last 16 at the expense of the French side. Having lost their first ever European game against AEK Athens here in September, qualifying as group winners is a remarkable achievement for a club that played in League One as recently as 2011.
Related: West Ham 2-0 Freiburg, Brighton 1-0 Marseille, Betis 2-3 Rangers: Europa League – live reaction
Brighton supporters can happily plan the next stage of their great adventure after this famous win which was much celebrated on a Sussex night, not least by their ecstatic manager.
“I lost my voice, I lost everything,” he said. “It was a great game. We are very happy, we are very proud of the club, of Brighton, of our fans, of our players, of the people who work within the club. This is the best moment of my time here.”
Brighton’s Europa League fortunes were turned around during the second half of their meeting with Marseille in the south of France in October when they ran out 2-0 winners at the Stade Velodrome to secure a valuable point. Four wins in a row, including impressive away wins in Amsterdam and Athens since then, culminating in this dramatic late victory over the European champions in 1993, have certainly meant they belong at this level.
Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra had glimpses on the flank but João Pedro – the Brazilian signed from Watford in the summer for a club record £30m – had to provide a decisive finish for the winner two minutes before full-time. “These are the best moments of my life,” he said afterwards – a sentiment that must surely be shared by many Brighton fans.
Marseille arrived on the south coast undefeated in this competition having won their last four matches. Central to their revival under Gennaro Gattuso has been a rejuvenated Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who followed up his hat-trick against Ajax at the end of last month with four more goals in Ligue 1 this month. But former Arsenal and Chelsea attacker João Pedro saw himself move ahead of him as the Europa League’s all-time top scorer after a fruitless afternoon for Gattuso’s side. “We lacked quality,” the Marseille manager revealed.
Goalkeeper Jonathan Clauss came closest to opening the scoring for the visitors in the first half when his effort deflected off Pascal Gross in the 15th minute and looped over Jason Steele’s head to the underside of the crossbar before turning wide. De Zerbi and Gattuso seem to have buried the hatchet after a serious Serie C promotion play-off in 2016 when they were in charge of Foggia and Pisa respectively, although the Brighton manager was not happy with numbers the stoppages in the first half as Marseille players repeatedly wasted time and made their feelings known to the Spanish referee. João Pedro’s best chance of the first half fell to João Pedro just before the break after a typically flowing move but his effort was wide.
The Brazilian forward was not far from converting Simon Adingra’s fizzing crosses in the second half as Brighton upped the tempo significantly. Ivory Coast winger Billy Gilmour then set up for a shot from distance which Pau López did well to spot.
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Gattuso turned to former Sheffield United forward Iliman Ndiaye from the bench but Marseille found themselves pinned inside their own half as Brighton controlled possession. Otherwise impressively, Adingra slipped right at the crucial moment when he was set up by Mitoma’s mazy dribble and fired his shot hopelessly over the crossbar. Marseille almost made him pay for his versatility when Amine Harit’s effort was blocked off the post after Steele was beaten, with the relieved Brighton goalkeeper avoiding the danger after the ball almost fell into the path of Aubameyang through his heel.
De Zerbi decided to go on the break and put Evan Ferguson in front but it was Marseille who looked set to win when Ndiaye dragged his shot wide after a cross from Clauss. The Brighton manager’s frustration grew as his side failed to muster significant chances and Marseille’s players managed to slow the game down at every opportunity, much to the delight of the fans behind Steele’s goal. But their joy was short lived when a brilliant move involving most Brighton players allowed João Pedro to send the home supporters into raptures.
