De Zerbi admits Brighton haven't beaten 'the true Villa'
Ending Brighton's six-match winless run, Joao Pedro headed in the rebound after Robin Olsen saved his penalty, which had been awarded for Ezri Konsa's foul on Simon Adingra.
"To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired. They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries. I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League," De Zerbi told reporters.
"Playing against Unai Emery’s teams is very tough. We played well, we deserved to win, we could have scored more goals. I think Olsen was the best player for Villa," he added.
A Villa win combined with a Tottenham loss at Liverpool in Sunday's late game would have sealed a Champions League place for Unai Emery's side. But Villa were unable to fulfil their part of that equation.
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