Man Utd Drop Points Again After 'Unforgivable' Luke Shaw Error

· GiveMeSport

Man Utd celebrated when Tottenham went down to 10 men at Old Trafford, but should Luke Shaw have kept his head?

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has had his fair share of criticism already this season and will once again be thinking about an error following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.

Michael Carrick's side looked to have the three points wrapped up, and a worst start to a league season in 40 years avoided, going into injury time 1-0 up and against a 10-man Spurs. However, goal shy Dominic Solanke broke his duck with a messy late strike to ensure spoils were shared.

It was Lisandro Martinez who was a deer in the headlights when defending the Sandro Tonali ball into the box in that instant, but it was a moment of headloss from Shaw that had helped to invigorate Spurs.

Against Hull City and Ipswich Town earlier this season, Shaw had been sluggish and made clear positional errors, drawing criticism from pundits. The 31-year-old was slammed for 'schoolboy' defending by Wayne Rooney .

Against Spurs, the full-back looked to have put those troubles behind him. While Savio posed much threat on the left flank for Tottenham, Shaw kept Mohammed Kudus in his pocket on the other flank.

The full-back was calm when asked to head the ball behind for a corner in the first half and was in the right place at the right time to make a goal-line clearance after the break. Shaw also played a key role in the move which led to the Bryan Mbeumo goal in the 73rd minute.

Just five minutes after the Red Devils took the lead, the defender once again leapt into action to intercept a Jan Paul van Hecke pass to launch forward and find himself in oceans of space on the left wing.

A flying scissor challenge from Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur followed and an invigorated Shaw shoved the Argentine to the ground. A melee followed with Bentancur headbutting the Man Utd man and receiving a red card. Shaw was also shown a yellow for his part in the tussle.

On paper, that coming together looked to have won the match for Man Utd. The Red Devils only had to see out the fixture against a 10-man Spurs.

However, that coming together invigorated De Zerbi's side. Speaking on Match of the Day , Danny Murphy said:

> "In a way, it did kickstart Tottenham. It gave them a boost and sometimes an incident in the game can do that.

> "That was the best performance I've seen this season from Tottenham. They looked organised, had some energy and urgency."

Ultimately, Shaw should have known better. On a day which saw veteran Jordan Henderson's calmness and experience anchor Chelsea to a win, the Red Devils needed their former England international to provide the same.

After a tricky start to the campaign, Man Utd needed to show maturity and poise. Shaw seeing red and igniting an already angry and unpredictable Spurs side was, in hindsight, an unforgivable error - he must know better.

It's a relief to see the player more assured in his defensive work but, in a tale as old as time, it's one step forward and two steps back for the Man Utd man.

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