Luke Shaw gives brutally honest review of Manchester United's season

Luke Shaw gives brutally honest review of Manchester United’s season

After Thursday night’s defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United defender Luke Shaw gave a typically candid post-match interview.

Following Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Thursday evening, Luke Shaw bemoaned the club’s wastefulness in front of goal.

Alexis Mac Allister scored a thrilling 99th-minute penalty to give the Seagulls all three points after Shaw looked to handle the ball inside the penalty area. Referee Andre Marriner was directed to the pitchside monitor, where he determined that the England defender had made touch with the ball with his hand, giving Mac Allister the opportunity to secure a vital victory for the home side.

Despite being under pressure in the latter stages of the game, United had created several good chances to punish Brighton at the other end, particularly in the first half. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Bruno Fernandes have all been guilty of passing up golden chances.

And, in Shaw’s opinion, it was United’s lack of a killer instinct in front of goal that cost them so much, with the left-back emphasizing the Reds’ ongoing failure to put opposing teams to the sword when chances present themselves.

“I know the problem and we know the problem,” Shaw told Sky Sports. “The problem is that we don’t score.

“In the first half we had three or four big chances that we should be scoring [from] and I think that has happened a lot of times this season. But then again, when you look at the other side, it comes down to my mistake at the end.

“But I think with the chances that we had we have to be scoring goals and the game would have been completely different if we had taken the chances that we did make.”

United have struggled to score goals throughout the season, highlighted by their current goal difference of just +9. Erik ten Hag’s side have scored just 49 goals in the Premier League this season – the lowest tally of any side currently camped inside the top seven.

Shaw, addressing why United are struggling to score goals, continued: “I don’t know. Maybe we just aren’t clinical enough. I don’t know what else to say.

“What I did was the total opposite and I lost us a point in the end. But when you look at the first half we could have been 3-0 up.”

United’s defeat on the south coast will have given Liverpool hope that they can make a late push for a top-four finish. Following their 1-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday night, they are now only four points behind the Reds, and a win over Brentford on Saturday could cut that gap to one point.

“I don’t think it changes anything; it is still in our hands,” added Shaw, addressing the top-four battle. “We have to kick ourselves from the position we were in because we were very comfortable.

“But now there is a real chase as teams around us are picking up points. But we still have one game in hand and it is still in our hands.”