Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is full of praise for Brighton counterpart Roberto de Zerbi.
City go to Brighton on Wednesday night.
Guardiola said: "I congratulate Brighton on their incredible achievement to get into the Europa League.
"Pay attention to what I'm going to say because I'm pretty convinced I'm right - Roberto de Zerbi is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years.
"There is no team playing in the way they play - it is unique. I had the feeling when he arrived in the Premier League that the impact would be great but I couldn't expect he would do this in this short a time.
"He creates 20-25 chances on average a game. He's better by far than all the opponents, he monopolises the ball in a way I haven't seen for a long, long time."
He continued: "Everybody is involved - the goalkeeper is like a holding midfielder. And if you don't play a high level he [De Zerbi] can do whatever he wants against you and all opponents.
"They deserve completely all the compliments and the success that they have.
"It is one of the teams I try to learn a lot [from]. It is unique like a Michelin star restaurant - in Catalonia, the best cook for many, many years, he changed completely the cuisine and I think Brighton is playing something unique, special.
"And it is a good, incredible challenge for us to help prepare for the two finals, absolutely."
