Brighton chief Paul Barber is delighted seeing the club reaching the Europa League knockout round.

Victory at AEK Athens secured their place last night.

Barber said, “It was a fantastic night in Athens, the atmosphere was absolutely incredible.

“I thought our fans were fantastic to get themselves heard above the noise in the stadium. But what a mature performance. We weren't at our fluid best, but in terms of our performance in Europe it was a really special night for us.

“It's another milestone and I am sure Roberto [De Zerbi] will say that there's plenty of work to do. There's another important game to come in the group – we want to try and win that and qualify as group winners.

“But it's another step and a great show of maturity to come to a place like this and not only get a win but a clean sheet with a very young team again."