Has Luke Shaw suffered another injury? (Photo: Getty)
Erik ten Hag says Luke Shaw was taken off as ‘precaution’ during Manchester United’s win at Aston Villa.
Goals from Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay, either side of a Douglas Luiz equaliser, gave United a much needed three points.
The result, United’s fifth win in six games, moves the club to within just six points off Tottenham in fourth, as they look to make an unlikely push for the Champions League spots.
It wasn’t all roses though, as Ten Hag made a surprising change at half-time, with Shaw subbed off and Victor Lindelof taking his place at left-back.
That decision was described as ‘devastating’ by Gary Neville, with the Swede struggling out of position against a relentless abd speedy Villa attack.
‘With Shaw going off, you see there they have been dominant this last 15-minutes – mainly over there. on the right,’ Neville said on commentary for Sky Sports.
‘It’s as much a problem in possession as it is out of possession. Shaw going off has been devastating for United. They’ve not coped well with it at all.’
Scott McTominay came off the bench to score the winner against Aston Villa (Photo: Getty)
As it turned out, that change was enforced, as Ten Hag explained post-match: ‘Precaution. He [Shaw] had some complaints and we can’t take any risks with him because he’s had any injuries in the past.
‘We’ll have to see how it goes in the next few days. It’s not an advantage to lose him, everyone knows my philosophy to have left-footers at left centre-back and left-back. We have to make compromises and it is not to our advantage.’
Later, in the 73rd minute, Rashford was subbed off for McTominay, a decision that was also questioned given the forward’s good performance at Villa Park.
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That call would be vindicated though, as McTominay headed home late on to secure the three points for the Red Devils, with the match-winner telling Sky Sports: ‘I feel like as long as I’m fit and healthy I can come onto the pitch and perform.
‘I don’t take it personally, I just want to come in and try and do the best I can for this. Long may it continue.
‘It was an unbelievable cross [from Diogo Dalot] to be fair, whipped with a lot of pace. I just needed it to hit my head and get it on target. Full credit to the boys, we created a lot of good chances which may go unnoticed.’
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