Ruben Amorim warned that ‘lazy’ Man Utd star may very well be exposed in Liverpool clash | Football

Paul Parker fears that the ‘lazy’ Luke Shaw could prove to be Manchester United’s undoing once they face off against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

United eased the pressure somewhat on Ruben Amorim’s shoulders with a routine 2-0 home victory over Sunderland prior to the international break.

But despite that, the Red Devils still sit tenth within the Premier League table after seven games, having already lost three league games thus far this season.

United will return from the international break hoping to secure back-to-back league wins under Amorim for the primary time since November 2024.

But they face a stern test up against the defending champions Liverpool, even when Arne Slot’s side lost three games on the bounce prior to the break.

A dogged and gutsy display from Amorim’s side saw United earn a degree once they visited Anfield within the league last season, but Parker isn’t confident of a repeat performance this time around.

And the previous Red Devils full-back fears that Shaw, who has began all seven league games this season on the left of Amorim’s back three, may very well be the weak link up against last 12 months’s Golden Boot winner, Mohamed Salah.

‘You have a look at the teams they’ve played against they usually can’t handle pace and energy levels,’ Parker told The Devils’ Advocate podcast.

‘If Liverpool play in front of them, it can be great but I don’t think they may. I feel they may try to turn them around, especially on the left side with Luke Shaw.

‘Salah goes to be seeking to run in behind with and without the ball, knowing the laziness of Luke Shaw, who he shall be pulling at his shirt on a regular basis and little things like that.’

Parker continued: ‘They haven’t got the discipline, trustworthy people to play for what the manager desires to do.

‘You may moan and moan about his system, but at the tip of the day, they need to use this word elite about these players of today, which is totally rubbish to be perfectly honest, but in the event that they were that elite, they’d be clever enough to go bang and do it.’

Shaw faced criticism earlier within the season from former United captain Roy Keane, who accused the Englishman of ‘dropping out’ during United’s derby-day defeat to Manchester City.

And speaking shortly afterwards, the defender conceded that he still had work to do to get back to his consistent best after two injury-hampered seasons.

‘People have opinions and I feel sometimes you only must take it on the chin,’ Shaw said on the time. ‘He’s got a variety of experience. He was among the best captains ever for United. After all it hurts.

‘But, for me, I feel criticism is a component of being a football player. I hearken to it. But I feel he was right. I feel that last week, I wasn’t at my level in any respect.

‘I don’t need Roy Keane to inform me. I feel after the sport, I knew that but after all it hurts. A very powerful thing is knowing how good I may be. The manager knows that.

‘I feel the managers who I played with previously know that. I’m at all times within the team and I’m at all times playing, so there should be something that the managers imagine in.

‘I’m not getting any younger now and I have to be consistent. I’ve had a variety of ups and downs, but for me now, it’s about keeping that consistency at a high level, because I do know I can try this.

‘That’s why last weekend hurt me quite a bit, because that’s not my level. And I feel the criticism is what people understand. But like I said, I take it on the chin and hearken to it and move on.’

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