If there was one small comfort to be taken from Manchester United’s one all draw with Everton on Tuesday it was the fact the seemingly doomed Luke Shaw not only managed to get some rare on the pitch minutes but his shot earned the Reds a last minute penalty and equaliser.
The former Southampton defender may have expected his performance to bring him some praise from Jose Mourinho, or at the very least exempt him from criticism, but alas it wasn’t to be as yet again the United manager used Shaw as some form of press conference punching bag, laying into the left back.
Mourinho said:
“He had a good performance but it was his body with my brain. He was in front of me and I was making every decision for him.
“At this level we need the fantastic body he has to play football, the fantastic physical qualities he has, the very good technical ability he has, but he cannot play with my understanding of the game.
“He must understand the game and he must think. He must accelerate the process because he is 21 years old and that is old enough to have a better understanding of the game.
“But his contribution was good, he improved the team.”
It was an odd statement for Mourinho to make in light of Shaw’s display and added to the impression that the manager simply has it in for the youngster, no matter what he does on the football pitch.
United fans have by and large sided with the manager when it comes to his treatment of Shaw, but that may be about to change.
Here’s how the fans reacted on social media to Mourinho’s latest rant about Shaw:
I think Mourinho’s comments about Luke Shaw were mean. He may think that, it may be true, but I don’t think it’s a very nice thing to share
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) April 5, 2017
I would expect some of Mourinho’s quotes this season in his third year, not after a few months. He’s acting weird.
— Alex Shaw (@AlexShawESPN) April 5, 2017
@SkyFootball We didnt need to know all this Jose, i like him as a manager but this public call out wasnt needed#MUFC
— Jus Jayde (@Jrocain) April 5, 2017
As much as I’m behind Mourinho, his comments about Shaw after the game last night were petty and uncalled for #mufc
— Matthew Clark Leach (@LeachJuice) April 5, 2017
Find Joses comments on Shaw to be really harsh. He came on and made a difference, to dig him out again in public is shocking #Shaw #MUFC
— Paul Burton (@PaulBurton_15) April 5, 2017
Shaw may not be given the chance to wear the new home strip next season, but you can head here for a chance to win a new Man U jersey.