Jamie Redknapp slammed Joshua Zirkzee as he "couldn't pass the ball" to his own team in Manchester United's 3-2 loss to Brighton in the League Cup.
United snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Brighton on Wednesday night. They were cruising, 2-0 up after 10 minutes following goals from Shea Lacey and Mason Mount.
They almost reached half-time with a two-goal lead, before the Seagulls scored just before the break through Charalampos Kostoulas. Goals from Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper in the second-half won it for Brighton.
United used all five substitutes in an attempt to turn the tide, with three men coming on a minute after it became 2-2, and two more beyond that.
Those introduced were Bryan Mbeumo, Kobbie Mainoo, Zirkzee, Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha, though none were able to turn things round for United.
Redknapp felt Zirkzee had a poor showing after he was introduced, telling Sky Sports: "They [Brighton] looked better coached, they had patterns of play even though they made changes today they looked like a thoroughly good side.
"United threw on their insurance policy in Bruno and Mainoo. Everyone thought they might be able to make an impact and in fact it made them worse.
"Zirkzee came on and couldn’t pass the ball to his own team-mate. Incredible for Brighton, they deserved it."
Joshua Zirkzee stats v Brighton
Zirkzee indeed struggled to have any sort of positive impact on the game against coming on, and Redknapp is not massively overstating his struggles to find team-mates.
The Dutchman attempted nine passes, and only five of them found a United player - that's an accuracy percentage of just 56. What's more, in Brighton's half, only one of his passes was on target.
To compound matters, the striker did not complete a single dribble successfully, and the one shot he had missed the target.
He lost possession 10 times in just 24 minutes of football. After the sharp start United had in the game, it's unfortunate that their substitutes, the likes of Zirkzee, were not able to dig them out.
If the Dutchman is the best option to attempt to turn a game in the final third then there's something of a problem.
His last goal for the club came in December, and outings like the one against Brighton don't inspire faith that there's another one coming any time soon.
