Bruno Fernandes had a day to forget as Manchester United were beaten by Brentford but one teammate’s performance was unforgivable.
Ruben Amorim’s wait for back-to-back wins continues after Manchester United lost 3-1 to Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty in the second half that would have levelled it up at 2-2, and it means the Portuguese playmaker has now missed two of his three spot kicks this season.
United fans are understandably frustrated that VAR mistakenly didn’t send off Nathan Collins, but the performance in London was nowhere near good enough regardless of decisions.
Bruno Fernandes will have to take the blame for the missed penalty, but a conversation needs to be had around one of his underperforming teammates.
71-touch Man United star must be axed after Brentford nightmare
United’s defence was torn apart in the opening 20 minutes against Brentford, with the Bees opting to fire the ball long into Igor Thiago.
None of Amorim’s back three claimed responsibility and handled the threat, and statistics prove that Luke Shaw in particular suffered a nightmare performance.
Via SofaScore, the 30-year-old was given a 5.9 rating for his performance.
| Luke Shaw vs Brentford | Statistics |
| Minutes played | 81 |
| Touches | 71 |
| Passes completed | 82% (47/57) |
| Dribbles completed | 0% (0/1) |
| Possessions lost | 15 |
| Errors leading to shot | 1 |
| Defensive actions | 4 |
Shaw lost possession more than any other United defender, and also made one error leading to a shot. He was eventually taken off and replaced by Mason Mount with nine minutes remaining.
United fans slammed Shaw for his performance, and his display should have Amorim seriously questioning his line-up for the next match against Sunderland.
Luke Shaw has faced criticism this season
It is certainly not the first time this season that Shaw’s place in Amorim’s side has been questioned.
Harry Maguire launched a defence of Shaw last week, explaining that he has played under every manager during his time at the club.
There is no denying that the England international can be world-class on his day, but the inconsistency shown this season is a real worry.
Roy Keane ripped into Shaw after the Manchester derby defeat, questioning how he is still on the club’s books.
With Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven on the bench hungry for minutes, Shaw’s spot in the starting XI is not guaranteed against Sunderland – and so it shouldn’t be.
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