Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United star Luke Shaws urges his teammates to get better after Southampton draw
Speaking on Match of the Day (h/t Manchester Evening News), Manchester United defender Luke Shaw said that the Red Devils need to get better in order to secure a top-four spot in the Premier League and continue playing in the UEFA Champions League football.
United played out yet another draw in the league, ending the game one goal apiece against Southampton. Jadon Sancho gave the home side the lead in the first half, but the team quickly gave it away by letting Che Adams score past them almost immediately at the beginning of the second half of the game.
Shaw, who played for Southampton until his move to United in 2014, urged his teammates to take their chances and get better so that the team do not miss out on a European spot and earn as many points as they can before the end of the season.
“If we take our chances early in the game it’s a different story. We know we need to get better. We can’t over-think it. We want to get in the Champions League and it’s not good enough and there’s no way we will get in Champions League if we keep dropping points.”
Shaw watched his side let slip yet another chance at three points, failing to see out the game after scoring early in the opening half-hour of the game. United currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, one place off the Champions League qualification spot.
History repeats itself
This is now United’s second successive draw in the league, dropping four points out of a possible six as they slip out of the UCL spots in the table. In both games, United took the lead in the first half, only to allow their opponents to peg them back in the second half and play out a frustrating draw.
Shaw warned his teammates about history repeating itself, saying that the players need to adapt and change their methods quickly to get back to playing their best football.
“History is repeating itself again. We started really well the first 20 minutes, got the goal and it just happened again. We know it’s not good enough and it needs to change quickly.”
Shaw will be rueing his side’s chances in the league, failing to keep yet another clean sheet as they let Southampton grow back into the game. Like the Englishman mentioned, it certainly seems to be a habit that United have inculcated, and they will be desperate to improve soon.
United’s Champions League hopes are lying in the balance, with multiple teams in contention to get that fourth spot. Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea seem to have taken control of the first three spots in the league table, and it is sure to be a highly-contested battle between multiple clubs for that fourth spot.
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Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are hot on United’s heels, while the Red Devils also have to deal with West Ham United, who are above them in the league currently. United fans will be nervously watching their team’s fortunes over the next few weeks as they chase down that fourth place in the Premier League table.
Shaw and his teammates will be looking to bounce back against Brighton in midweek, having a chance to redeem themselves and put these disappointing draws aside. The club and fans expect nothing less than Champions League football next season, and the pressure will be on the players to perform in the coming months.
