Luke Shaw has admitted his mistake “cost” Manchester United a valuable point tonight but highlighted a lingering issue in the team’s attack.
Shaw was left red-faced after his handball led to Brighton and Hove Albion being awarded an injury-time spot-kick, which was swiftly converted by Alexis Mac Allister.
It’s a shame as before the incident, the Englishman had put in another quality performance at centre-back and was on course to keep another clean sheet. Now though, the blame unfortunately will fall on him.
Shaw reacts to Brighton defeat
He reacted to the VAR decision post-match when speaking to Sky Sports, saying: “Last minute, last action really. I got a little nudge but of course, the hand shouldn’t be there. I own up to it, take it on the chin, it cost us the game but it is tough.
“I can’t even explain why my hand is up there. I got a nudge, maybe that helps with my hand going up but it shouldn’t be there. Even before the corner, the free kick was never a foul. I am not looking for excuses, but it shouldn’t have been a foul that led to the corner. So maybe that corner shouldn’t have even happened. I am not accusing the referee of anything. Hands up, a silly mistake that cost us a point.”
Shaw then went on to hint at an ongoing dilemma that United have faced time and time again this campaign.
“The problem is we don’t score. We had three or four big chances in the first half we should be scoring. That is happening a lot of times this season. Then again, it comes down to my mistake at the end but with the chances we had we should be scoring. The game is completely different if we score with the chances we make.
“Maybe not clinical enough, I don’t know what else to say. I say about that but obviously, go down to the other end what I did. It is totally disappointing and I lost us a point at the end.”
Regarding the quest for a top-four finish, he added: “It changes nothing. It is still in our hands. We have to pick ourselves from the position we were in. We were comfortable but now you could say there is a real chase. Teams around us are picking up points. We still have a game in hand and it is in our hands.”
"If you look from the first-half, we could have been 3-0 up"
Luke Shaw suggests Manchester United need to be more clinical in front of goal, but admits his mistake cost his side 👇 pic.twitter.com/zcH3xGdDJw
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 4, 2023
Footage courtesy of Sky Sports.
