Kaouru Mitoma gave an extremely honest reflection of his duel with Aaron Wan-Bissaka following Brighton's crushing defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Brighton lost their semi-final showdown at Wembley Stadium 7-6 on penalties as Man United set up a blockbuster FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Wan-Bissaka starred in normal time and extra-time, containing Brighton's exciting Japanese star Mitoma, who has unable to influence the match.
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It was Mitoma's first time playing against Erik ten Hag's star-studded team, with the 25-year-old 'regretting' not scoring last Sunday.
He also praised Wan-Bissaka and candidly said his duel with the right-back was a 'complete defeat'.
Speaking after his side's FA Cup defeat, he said: "I regret that I didn’t score a goal despite having a few chances to do so.
"And it’s difficult to score penalties, so I think I could have done something more before that."
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Mitoma added: "I hadn’t played against them [Manchester United] before but all of their players are of high quality individually, so we had to be careful on the counter-attacks.
"I think the match as a whole went well but they had quality at the end.
"I also need to improve. He [Wan-Bissaka] is a strong opponent, that’s what I thought while I was playing.
"There were a lot of occasions where his legs stretched at the end, or he got the ball down at the back. I think it was a complete defeat."
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Mitoma has been sensational for the Seagulls this season, scoring 10 goals in all competitions as he's enhanced his reputation following his humble football upbringing.
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Despite the club's FA Cup elimination, he can still steer his side to European qualification as they currently occupy eighth place in the Premier League table.
Topics: Brighton And Hove Albion, Football, Manchester United, Aaron Wan Bissaka
Nasir Jabbar