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Manchester United slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday evening, pushing them down to seventh place in the Premier League standings.
It was another frustrating night for United, with Erik ten Hag’s team unable to place pressure on the Magpies’ defence for the majority of the match.
On the defensive end, United were not much better off, allowing the home side to take a massive 22 shots.
Still, Luke Shaw played his part to keep the scoreline limited to 1-0.
Playing at centre-back instead of his usual place at left-back, Shaw made two crucial blocks to keep the game goalless until the 55th minute.
The English defender made four clearances, the most of any player from either team except for teammate Harry Maguire who made six.
Shaw also showed decent marking and tracking ability, not being dribbled past throughout the entire match.
Still, he appeared sluggish at times, unable to keep up with Newcastle’s pacy attackers, as was exhibited by his zero tackles throughout the affair.
Despite a mixed defensive performance, Shaw was one of the few promising players in United’s build-up play, completing 39 of 42 passes for a 93% passing accuracy – the most of any player on the field.
His long balls were less effective, with just one of five crosses finding its target and Newcastle keeper Nick Pope easily catching his cross into the box from a free kick in the first half.
Shaw won two of his three aerial duels on the night while coming off second-best in just one ground duel.
While the full-back played his part in limiting Newcastle’s scoring opportunities while playing at centre-back, it’s clear that Shaw is not yet back to his best since returning from injury.
(Stats via Sofascore)
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