'Second best all over the park' - pundits and players react to Brighton's defeat at Watford

Roberto Pereyra scored twice for the Hornets in their 2-0 victory and Albion full-back Bernardo said Watford fully deserved to win as they were 'stronger, faster and smarter'.

Here's some of the post-match reaction:

Alan Shearer on Match Of The Day

"Only Bernardo started so there's no excuse for players settling into the system.

"They (Brighton) spent over £62m and had the worst away record in the Premier League last season. I was speaking to Chris Hughton at the Premier League launch this week and he was reasonably confident with the players they've brought in but understanding it's going to be another tough season for them but he thought they could improve.

"He'll be disappointed with that because they were second best all over the park."

Albion full-back Bernardo

"They were better than us - stronger, faster and smarter. They fully deserved to win. We need to improve because if we play like that in our next matches, it won’t be an easy season.

“I have the impression that we didn’t give our best performance today, but I’m sure we have the quality and mentality to correct things and have a good season.

“The new players have settled in very well with the team. (Yves) Bissouma had a good match and Ali (Jahanbakhsh) is also a fantastic player.

“With time and more games together, we will get better chemistry and play better matches.”

Watford captain Troy Deeney

"People think we sold Richarlison and the whole team fell apart.

"We've got a great squad and have got (Gerard) Deulofeu and Nath (Nathaniel Chalobah) to come back yet, so there's a lot of quality throughout.

"We had a great pre-season and you could see that from the fitness levels towards the end, digging in and still closing down.

"Long may that continue."

Ian Wright on Match Of The Day...

On Pereyra: "He signed from Juventus a couple of seasons ago and is a quality player."

The first goal: "This is something they've done before, you can see him acting like he's not involved but this is a quality controlled strike.

"The goalkeeper is unlucky because it's come through a lot of people."

The second goal: "They get a bit of luck but last season Brighton would maybe have someone come and and block it and Duffy maybe should have but he (Pereyra) showed again the quality he's got by finishing it."

Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster on Twitter

"Perfect start! Fantastic team performance and a clean sheet too. Thanks @WatfordFC fans for the warm reception, it’s nice to be back."

HAVE YOU READ?

Watford v Brighton player ratings

Chris Hughton post-match reaction

Watford v Brighton fan and action picture gallery