In Premier League Matchweek 16, Manchester United drew 4-4 with Bournemouth at home. During his commentary while reviewing Semedo’s equalizing goal, former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville criticized Luke Shaw’s performance.
Neville said: “Semedo is a very special player. Mount just knocked the ball back to Luke Shaw, who was then pushed aside directly – it was just a minor shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. There was so much more he could have done, so much, but he was simply bundled off the ball by Justin Kluivert in the physical duel.”
“Luke Shaw has to be tougher here. Instead, he put his teammates in a passive position where they could barely stop Semedo from shooting – if they rushed out too early, he would cross the ball. Can you beat the goalkeeper.
Absolutely. It’s an extremely brilliant finish – as a coaching example, it has almost everything you want from a young striker. He just side-footed it, but with great power. Despite all the good work Manchester United did earlier, they were ultimately pegged back.”
In his halftime commentary, Jamie Carragher shifted the blame to young center-back Aiden Havard, arguing he should have covered in time after Shaw was pushed aside.
Carragher said: “That side was a communication breakdown. Luke Shaw was bundled to the ground, and from Semedo’s perspective, it’s a fantastic goal. But Aiden Havard is a young player – he’ll obviously learn from this experience... but in that situation, he had to move over to cover.”
“It’s really tricky. Semedo had already got up to speed and made a run forward. Havard had to cover across at some point; he couldn’t let him keep dribbling, keep running, and finish with such ease. Initially, Mount was also involved in the defense, but since Luke Shaw was pushed off the pitch, he could only try his best to chase back. But at that moment, he was the only one who could have covered.”
