'Mistakes' - De Zerbi explains why he made just two substitutes compared to Man United's five

Brighton went into the Wembley showdown with a number of injuries as the likes of Adam Lallana, Evan Ferguson, Tariq Lamptey, Jeremy Sarmiento and Joel Veltman all missed the starting XI through injuries.

De Zerbi's team suffered a further blow during the second half as experienced striker Danny Welbeck was forced off with what appeared to be a knee injury and was replaced by Deniz Undav on 75 minutes. Veltman, who was not fit enough to start, was the only other substitution the Albion head coach used as he replaced a youthful Julio Enciso on 67 minutes.

The rest of the outfield players on the bench Levi Colwill, 18, Yasin Ayari, 19, Billy Gilmour, 21, Jan Paul Van Hecke, 22, Facundo Buonanotte, 18 and Odeluga Offiah, 20, remained unused.

In contrast, United boss Erik ten Hag could turn to experienced and expensive internationals as Fred, Marcel Sabitzer, Jadon Sancho, Wout Weghorst and Tyrell Malacia all added fresh energy to tired legs.

It clearly highlighted the challenge De Zerbi faced and going forward, improving the depth of the squad has to be the next stage of Brighton's development if they are continue to compete at this level and on high profile stages.

"Yes of course," said De Zerbi when asked by Sussex World if he felt limited by his options from the bench. "But I don't like to speak about if. No ifs and no buts.

"I'm proud today because we lost the game. To progress we have young players with big potential. But to improve they must have the possibility to play.

"But if you are 18 or 19 you can make more mistakes on the play."

Brighton are next in action at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Wednesday night and it’s unclear at this stage if strikers Welbeck or Ferguson will be available.

"I don't know if Evan [Ferguson] can play on Wednesday, maybe not,” De Zerbi said. “Danny Welbeck I don't know if it's a big problem or not. But we will be ready to fight and to play with the ball and try to command the play in another game."