Pascal Gross pinpoints why they lost so heavily against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico

Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross admits lost duels cost them dearly during the 4-0 loss in the Europa League round of 16 first leg at Roma on Thursday.

First-half goals by Roma’s Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku put host ahead in the Italian capital with Gianluca Mancini and Bryan Cristante killing the tie after the break.

Gross said: “We felt we prepared like we always do and we felt really positive before the game. I think we conceded a couple of goals which at this level you will get punished for and we didn’t score ourselves.

"We lost the ball in bad areas and we lost some duels, which can happen at this level. All you can do is try and get better."

Albion now face a near-impossible task to progress. Gross added, “In football everything is possible, but we have another 90 minutes on Sunday first.”