Rio Ferdinand rips into Manchester United star Luke Shaw following derby disasterclass
It has been another Manchester derby where the Premier League heavyweights received another humbling, and that followed another week of Manchester United legends tearing into the players who keep letting the club down.
And this time it’s Luke Shaw, given his underwhelming performance in that 3-0 humiliation last Sunday. And (let’s be honest) there is no hiding for the England international.
Rio Ferdinand lashes into Luke Shaw
While that 3-0 defeat at the Etihad has left a wide section of supporters frustrated. But for the duo of former United players in Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane, it was the manner in which United conceded these three goals that really hurt. And Shaw, who is now playing in a makeshift back three under Ruben Amorim, was part of a lot of City’s offensive action.
Speaking on his Rio Presents podcast, Ferdinand spoke about how the 30-year-old has not been doing his defensive actions right. He went on to highlight how he is not only smelling the danger but also how Shaw is not supporting his teammates at the back. Rio went on to speak about that second goal where Erling Haaland got the better of Shaw before his shooting action.
He said:
“He just isn’t sensing the danger. He’s not covering the other players. He’s not getting his arms across his body to block Haaland. He’s reacting too late – he’s not smelling danger at all.
“When I look at it, I don’t think it’s a system issue. Take that goal, for example, where [Nico] O’Reilly nutmegs someone, pops it around the corner, and runs to the other side – and suddenly it’s through for Haaland.
“That’s great football; you sometimes have to say in the midfield area it’s great football. But defensively, from a Luke Shaw standpoint, I thought it was poor, and it could have been avoided. I just think there were too many defensive mistakes – we got opened up far too easily.”
Author Opinion
Rio Ferdinand rips into Manchester United star Luke Shaw following derby disasterclass.
Luke Shaw had a howler of performance against Man City in Manchester Derby.
Even if we look at this a bit statistically, then it was an outing for Shaw to forget. He had just one tackle in the 90 minutes he was on the pitch. And then he backed it up with no blocks. He was beaten in key duels, and you could see him being at fault for all three goals.
Particulars (via. FotMob) Luke Shaw’s Numbers vs Man City
Minutes played 90
Touches 66
Tackles 1
Blocks 0
Recoveries 5
Dribbled past 1
Now you can also point this down to a bit of tactical stubbornness from Ruben Amorim. Given that Shaw is more of a wide player who is made to play in a makeshift central role (one which clearly doesn’t suit his strengths).
See if we look at this on paper. The Portuguese head coach is asking Shaw to play more centrally. He is tasked with keeping the likes of Haaland quiet, and doing so in a leaky 3-4-2-1 setup. Isn’t that already setting him up to fail?
Going into that big game on the weekend against Chelsea, the former Sporting Lisbon manager now faces a major decision. Either he goes on and changes his shape (which he is highly unlikely to do), or he sets his side up in a way which gets the best out of Shaw. Another option is to drop him altogether. But keeping with what they did against Man City doesn’t help his cause.
Would you start Shaw against Chelsea? If so, what sort of role would you expect out of him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.