The pair of Manchester United defenders endured arguably their worst performance in the famous red shirt during the 5-0 humiliation at the hands of rivals Liverpool
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Manchester United v Liverpool match in pictures
Signed for a combined figure of around £110m, Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were a long way from justifying that number against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp’s men ran riot at Old Trafford, breaching the faltering United backline five times without a reply from the hosts – the heaviest defeat United have suffered at the hands of Liverpool in more than 100 years.
While no one in a United shirt can exactly come away from the drubbing with their heads held high, Maguire and Shaw were arguably the worst performers of the lot.
The pair were notably out of sync for Naby Keita’s opening goal – Maguire choosing to step up ahead of the rest of his defensive line, while Shaw was the deepest of the lot and in turn playing all of Liverpool’s attackers onside.
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Eight minutes later the duo were guilty of shoddy defensive work once again – colliding with each other as they both tried to clear the lines before the ball fell to the feet of Keita.
Shaw’s run to meet the ball next to Maguire left Trent Alexander-Arnold free down the right attacking flank, who duly set up Diogo Jota to double Liverpool’s lead.
The comedy of errors from both Maguire and Shaw was a world away from the kind of performances the nation witnessed while the pair were on England duty during Euro 2020.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions side broke defensive records as they reached the final of the tournament without conceding a goal from open play.
It was not until the semi-final stage England were forced to pick the ball out of their net at all, Maguire and Shaw both playing an integral role in a record-breaking backline.
Yet, Sunday evening’s horror show was not the first time the pair have endured a disastrous afternoon for United alongside each other.
This time 12 months ago United had just been on the end of another humiliating home display – this time a 6-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.
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Maguire and Shaw were notably disastrous against what was then Jose Mourinho’s Spurs, the pair getting in each other’s way for Tottenham’s first that afternoon in similar fashion to Liverpool’s second on Sunday.
As club captain, after the game Maguire issued a grovelling apology to the Old Trafford faithful in his post-match interview.
“First and foremost, apologies to the fans,” the dejected United skipper told Sky Sports.
“It’s nowhere near good enough at this club. We are all disappointed. We spoke in the dressing room, I’m here because I have to be here.
“The only real thing is we have to apologise to the fans. They stuck right with us, singing and chanting at 5-0, but for us as a club we have to do better.”
United currently languish as low as seventh in the table, eight points adrift of league leaders Chelsea – meaning ending the eight-year wait for a title will take a mammoth effort from Maguire, Shaw and the rest of Solskjaer’s misfiring stars.
