Wednesday 9 May 2018 23:51, UK
Chris Hughton has called on his Brighton players to learn from their 3-1 defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City.
The Seagulls travelled to Manchester safe in the knowledge their top-flight status was secure, and made a decent account of themselves at the Etihad Stadium.
Leonardo Ulloa hauled Brighton level four minutes after Danilo's opener for City, before goals from Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho sealed a record-breaking victory for the champions.
"We stuck in there, it was a hard night, as it is for most teams that come here," Hughton told Sky Sports.
"When you go down, they can heap the pressure on you and get a second and third but we showed good character to come back to 1-1.
"What they showed was their quality in the final third. We've looked at all three goals and they were three great counters with pace.
"It's very difficult to deal with that, you've got to get so many things right on the night. We got a lot right but they pose such a good threat.
"It's always a learning curve playing against the big sides, they do things that maybe the other sides don't. City have got great pace and strength, recovery and they are athletes.
"You've got to have a good day on the ball and probably, if we'd stuck at 2-1, we might have been able to have afford ourselves a little more on the ball.
"It would have been very difficult, but the third goal goes in which made things difficult. But it always a learning curve."
City's set a hat-trick of Premier League records - most wins (31), most goals (105) and most points (97), with the victory, which came in Yaya Toure's final home game at the club.
Asked if City were the best side the Premier League has seen, Hughton added: "Only time will tell, if they're not then they are incredibly close to it.
"The options they have, the intensity, they are not a side who only have good individuals, they work incredibly hard as well. It's very difficult to stay with them.
"In my time they are the best footballing side I've seen."
