George Baker
Jose Mourinho praises England and Manchester United star Luke Shaw
According to Daily Record, Jose Mourinho had some words of praise for Manchester United and England star Luke Shaw. The former United manager who has not always been a fan of the defender spoke highly about Shaw’s performance throughout the tournament.
Shaw does not have fond memories of Jose Mourinho, who was the manager between 2016-18. During that time, the Portuguese manager was overly critical of Shaw’s performances, often pointing the finger at him for the side’s failings.
However, credit goes to Shaw, who had the mental fortitude to bounce back from the double leg fracture in 2015 and the following seasons of disappointment. Despite England losing the Euro 2020 final, Shaw can take heart from the fact that he played his part to perfection, giving England the lead within two minutes.
Mourinho was all praise for Shaw
One name who has always been a critic of Shaw is Jose Mourinho. But he finally had some words of praise for his former protege (h/t Daily Record).
“Because people think I don’t like Luke Shaw I have to say: amazing tournament, fantastic final, no defensive mistakes, solid. On top of that he improved, improved and improved and he scored a goal that doesn’t mean much but for him, for his career, for the way he grew up? Very good. Very good Luke Shaw.”
While Mourinho did add that Southgate perhaps fluffed his lines when he allowed an inexperienced player Saka to take the decisive penalty. He questioned why more experienced players such as Shaw, Stones and Sterling did not take the critical spot-kicks.
“In this case I really don’t know, but it doesn’t matter if you’re a great penalty taker or not: in this situation where was Sterling, where was Stones, where was Luke Shaw? Why didn’t Henderson or Walker stay on? Because in reality it’s very, very hard for Rashford and Sancho to come on and take a penalty after one touch of the ball but for Saka to have the destiny of a country on his shoulders I think is too much. Poor Saka, I just feel very sorry for him and that’s it.”
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There is definitely scope for debate as to why Southgate did not go with the more experienced men for the last three penalties. Given how young the likes of Saka, Rashford and Sancho are, it was probably not the best call to let them take those.
