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Brian Owen Profile Image
Fabian Hurzeler watches Albion win at Manchester City (Image: Martin Rickett/Press Association)
Fabian Hurzeler watches Albion win at Manchester City (Image: Martin Rickett/Press Association)
Fabian Hurzeler said Albion had to suffer at the Etihad.
But he was proud of the club’s efforts on and off the pitch as they beat Manchester City.
The Seagulls returned from defeat in the Carabao Cup on penalties and achieved a landmark win.
Yasin Ayari scored on 11 minutes and the visitors defended superbly to preserve the win and clean sheet.
Head coach Hurzeler said: “We expected a game where we have to suffer.
“To come here, to this place, is very difficult, facing one of the best teams in the Premier League, in the world.
“You need to play at your highest level, and you need to stick together.
“We all wanted to have this feeling that the defence wins today.
“Defence wins these kinds of tight games, and that's what my team showed today.
“We had all this defensive mindset. We all showed a real togetherness.
“We faced a lot of adversity during the game, and therefore I'm really proud how my players stick together and how they kept the clean sheet.
“With quality, with a little bit of luck but also, in the end, deserved because they worked hard for it.”
Albion were bitterly disappointed after the midweek shoot-out.
But Hurzeler set the right tone with an upbeat press conference at 11am on Thursday at their hotel in Manchester.
That mood continued throughout their stay in the North West.
Speaking after Saturday’s game, he said: “We were sitting on Wednesday in the locker room with a disappointed feeling, because going out on a penalty shoot-out is brutal.
“I think that's the worst way to lose a match.
“And then we promised ourselves that on Saturday, we don't want to have the same feeling.
“We want to have a feeling of being satisfied with being happy after the game.
“That's what we promised ourselves.
“We said to each other we had to get out of our bodies this kind of disappointment.
“The next day, we set the tine, we created energy, we created positivity, because you need to have this in your environment if you want to focus on the next game.
“Immediately after the game, we saw Saturday as an opportunity to come back, come back stronger, to face now this adversity we had on Wednesday and show another great performance on Saturday.
“This was the approach we had and how the players recovered, how the players stick together and built this connection throughout these four days was really impressive.
“I'm really proud of everyone who was involved, not only players also the staff members worked really hard.
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“They did the work in the shadow and they really helped to make the players recover.
“They really helped to create the right energy, and in the hotel, and therefore, I think it's also a win for them.”