Luke Shaw has made nine appearances for Man Utd this season (Photo: Getty)
Luke Shaw has admitted that some Manchester United performances have been ‘unacceptable’ but hopes the draw at Liverpool can be a turning point in their season.
To the surprise of many, United kept a clean sheet at Anfield on Sunday as they held their arch-rivals to a goalless draw and prevented them from going top of the Premier League.
Though the Reds dominated the game, the Red Devils put in spirited performance – something that has been severely lacking for the much of the campaign, and which has left Erik ten Hag’s side in dire straights.
As it stands, United are seventh in the table, 11 points off leaders Arsenal, and have already been knocked out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Shaw has missed much of the campaign with a muscle injury and since his return the team have looked a little better defensively, but the left-back knows there is a long way to go before his side are back to their best.
‘That [the defensive display vs Liverpool] has to be the foundation now,’ the England international told Betfred.
‘Every game, whether it is at Anfield away or here [at Old Trafford], it always has to be the same and I think that is where we have been lacking I think is the consistency.
Man Utd surprisingly held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw (Photo: Getty)
‘I think one game we are excellent, for example the game against Chelsea here – we played a really good game, then we go and let ourselves down by playing Bournemouth here and losing 3-0.
‘It’s not acceptable, we can’t accept that and it’s something that needs to be addressed and changed very quickly because we can’t keep doing this.’
After the game, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk blasted United’s tactics, claiming they made no attempt to win the game and were ‘buzzing’ to get a point.
Man Utd put in a spirited performance at Anfield (Photo: Getty)
Shaw doesn’t quite see it that way, but hailed the importance of keeping a clean sheet against one of the most prolific teams in the world, adding: ‘Really important, especially with the results we’ve been having recently conceding a lot of goals.
‘To go there, especially away at Anfield, what happened last year there [the 7-0 defeat] – we all remembered that very well. It was one of the worst days in my footballing career. And for all of us.
‘I think it was definitely showing a step in the right direction, still obviously little things we can do better on when we have the ball, but I think as a defensive block, a defensive unit, I think that is the foundations we need to approach every game with, exactly how we defended in that game.
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‘It was a chance for us to go in the right step and I think the result was good. We could have maybe snatched it at the end of the game, of course they had more possession, they had a few chances but more from set plays – not really too many from open play.
‘I think we can be happy with that but of course, I think when we look back at the game now, for me especially, we could have won that game.’
Up next for United and Shaw is another tricky test away to West Ham, who will leapfrog them in the table if they win.
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