Analysing Luke Shaw: 5 Positives From The Manchester United Left Back’s Performance Against Leicester City
Luke Shaw joined United from Southampton in 2014 and has played 67 games over 4 seasons, a spell which was marred by injuries and criticism for lack of professionalism. However, his 67th game, against Leicester City in the 2018/19 season opener, showcased one of his best performances on the field and was perhaps his highest point in a United shirt.
Shaw joined United on the back of a stellar year, where he played 35 times for Southampton in the league, and 3 times in the FA Cup, totaling 38 games in the season. In stark contrast, at United he has never crossed the 20 game mark for a season in the 4 years he has spent at OT. He has been unfortunate with injuries but has also been unlucky when fit, the latest example being the emergence of Ashley Young as a left back. Young was so good at that position for United that he made his way into the England World Cup Squad and was a vital part of the team that reached the semifinals.
In the 4 years that he has been at Old Trafford, Luke Shaw has gone from a future star to another youngster who never lived up to his potential. But if the first game of the season is anything to go by, Shaw seems to have turned a new leaf. Whether he has the consistency to pull through the whole season is yet to be seen, but if he manages to keep himself fit, this could be his path-breaking year at Manchester United.
In the game against Leicester, Shaw took his strong preseason preparations to a new level and we look at five positives from the left back’s performance in the game.
#5 Positioning
Shaw started the game at the left side of defense and spent the 90 minutes hugging the touchline. This enabled him to get into good spaces, and he was always available to receive the ball. In fact, Pogba did free him a couple of times and his speed was evident on those occasions as he left Amartey behind repeatedly.
His positioning has improved and he overlapped beautifully throughout the game. As a result, Shaw had 99 touches of the ball, the most by a United player. Pogba had 91 touches and Pereira had 75, both midfielders who are supposed to have the ball more. In fact, only Ndidi with 100 touches had more touches on the ball in the game. This shows how involved Shaw was. The only shortfall was that he did not attempt a single cross in the game.