Luke Shaw has revealed that complacency led to Manchester United’s 7-0 defeat to Liverpool.
United were hammered by Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield, collapsing in the second half with six goals conceded.
Shaw set the wheels for the second half collapse in motion by giving the ball away needlessly, a pass which suggested a lack of concentration.
The left-back did not reference his own performance, but said the whole team have lost intensity since the Carabao Cup final win.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesShaw says standards have dropped
Shaw had already apologised in the immediate aftermath of Manchester United’s heavy defeat.
Quoted by The Telegraph, Shaw admitted the players had let their standards drop.
He said: “Our standards have clearly dropped since we’ve won that trophy and in the last couple of games we haven’t been our normal selves.
“We showed no personality, no mentality and for a big team to come here we need to be better.
“It showed in the first half that if you switch off for one moment then you get punished. In the second half we switched off for the whole half and not just moments.
“Like I said, it was embarrassing, disgraceful and it’s not acceptable what that second half was. We can’t let this one result derail our whole season because we’re in a really good place. It’s another hurdle we need to go over and as a team we’ll climb over that.”
United’s delight at winning the trophy a week ago was understandable. It was the club’s first silverware in the last six years, and a huge occasion at Wembley.
This was followed up with a hard fought victory over West Ham in the FA Cup. United won this game 3-1 but could easily have gone 2-0 down midway through the second half.
It was a flat performance, with Roy Keane calling out the celebratory atmosphere at Old Trafford before the game.
Well, there is nothing celebrate right now. The 7-0 defeat was a real wake-up call, which has cast a gloomy cloud over the club.
The management and players will now knuckle down with renewed focus. They should have done this ahead of the Liverpool game, but sometimes it takes a jolt to remind them what is necessary, and they got an almighty shock to the system at the weekend.
