Gary Neville savagely labelled Luke Shaw ‘a waste of time’ as Manchester United slumped to a lifeless 1-0 defeat against Everton at Old Trafford.
United lost on Monday night despite the visitors being reduced to ten men after Idrissa Gueye slapped team-mate Michael Keane inside 13 minutes.
Frustration poured out from Neville as United chased an equaliser with a man advantage, criticising Shaw’s role in Ruben Amorim’s back three.
‘I’m not saying it’s easy playing against ten men, you have to play with some urgency, you have to put as many players as possible forward, into forward areas,’ Neville said on Sky Sports.
He argued Shaw failed to provide that urgency as United struggled to stretch Everton’s deep defence.
‘Shaw is starting to move forward a little bit, but he’s ambling forward, let’s be clear,’ he continued.
Gary Neville labelled Luke Shaw ‘a waste of time’ as Manchester United slumped to a lifeless 1-0 defeat against Everton at Old Trafford
The England international drew the ire of the United legend during a second half in which the Red Devils toiled for a leveller
Everton held on to a shock lead thanks to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first-half goal, a whipped right-footed strike into the far top corner.
United dominated possession after the red card but lacked penetration, with Shaw, Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt largely staying behind the ball, as Amorim persisted with his preferred 3-4-3 shape.
The display left Neville increasingly frustrated as the second half wore on and United failed to break down ten-man resistance.
He stressed that Shaw should not have been deployed centrally when United needed attacking reinforcements high up the pitch, adding: ‘You’ve still got Yoro, Shaw and De Ligt largely playing behind the ball.
‘It’s a waste of time, I don’t care. Honestly, what he’s doing there, you’re not conning anybody.’
Despite being a man down, David Moyes’ side remained organised and restricted United to speculative efforts and hopeful deliveries.
The result ends United’s four-match winning run at home and leaves them 10th in the table after missing a chance to move into the top four.
Post-match, Amorim delivered a striking response and insisted his players needed to show more fight, even referencing the incident that led to Everton’s dismissal.
Post-match, Amorim delivered a striking response and insisted his players needed to show more fight
‘Fighting is not a bad thing. Fighting doesn’t mean they don’t like each other,’ Amorim said.
‘Fighting is that you lose the ball and I will fight you because you lose the ball and we will suffer a goal. I feel afraid of returning to this feeling of last season, that is my biggest concern.
‘We are not even near at the moment where we’re supposed to be in this club.’
