Gary Neville singled out Luke Shaw for criticism after Antoine Semenyo equalised for Bournemouth in the side’s pulsating 4-4 draw with Manchester United, insisting the defender had to be ‘stronger’ in the build-up.
United surrendered the lead three times in Monday night’s eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford and had to rely on a pair of fine saves from Senne Lammens at the death to emerge with a point.
Second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha put the hosts on course for a second successive victory, but Eli Junior Kroupi had other ideas, finishing cooly to make it all square with six minutes remaining of normal time.
The Red Devils had started brightly at the Theatre of Dreams and were rewarded for their early efforts as Amad Diallo capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Djordje Petrovic to head home from close range.
But Bournemouth managed to regroup and scored against the run of play in the 40th minute – and it was that man Semenyo who got the goal for the Cherries, his seventh of the Premier League campaign.
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United were guilty of gifting possession back to the visitors in the immediate build-up, though, with Shaw barged off the ball by Justin Kluivert following an untidy pass from Mason Mount on the touchline.
While Casemiro restored United’s advantage on the stroke of half-time, the hosts’ lackadaisical defending – which continued in the second period – was again a hot talking point for fans and pundits alike.
‘There’s an inquest going on at that far side, but he [Semenyo] is a special player,’ former Manchester United and England right-back Neville said on Sky Sports’ commentary when watching back Semenyo’s leveller.
‘Mason Mount just pops it back to Shaw and then Luke Shaw just gets barged out of the way. It’s a little bit of a shoulder to shoulder.
‘There’s a lot to do, an awful lot to do, and he just basically gets shoulder barged out of the way by Justin Kluivert.
‘He’s got to be stronger there, Shaw, and he just leaves his team-mates in a position whereby they’ve almost got to invite Semenyo to shoot because if you go out too early they will just play it across.
‘Can you beat the goalkeeper? Yes you can. It’s an absolutely wonderful finish, everything you’d want in teaching a young forward. He just side foots it but with such power.
‘For all their good work, Manchester United, they find themselves level in the game.’
In the Sky Sports studio at the half-time break, Jamie Carragher pointed the finger at Ayden Heaven, insisting young centre-back should have come across after Shaw was shoved off the ball.
‘It’s just a mix up on that far side. Luke Shaw gets knocked off the ball and it’s a brilliant goal from Semenyo’s point of view,’ the ex-Liverpool and England defender said.
‘But Ayden Heaven, he’s a young player, obviously, and he’ll learn from the experience… but he’s got to come over in that situation.
‘It’s a difficult one. Semenyo’s got the run and Heaven’s got to come over at some stage, he can’t allow him to keep running and running and get the shot away.
‘Mason Mount is involved initially and because Luke Shaw gets knocked off the pitch, he’s got to try and get back if he can. He’s the only one that can get back.’
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