Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has played down praise of himself and Raphael Varane for stopping Erling Haaland in the Manchester derby, instead explaining that it was a team effort to keep the prolific striker quiet.
Pep Guardiola’s side took the lead at Old Trafford in the derby on Saturday through Jack Grealish in the 57th minute, but United completed a stunning turnaround in the closing stages thanks to goals from Bruno Fernanes and Marcus Rashford.
United won the game 2-1 to claim the three points and Haaland, who has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season, was largely anonymous throughout the game, failing to record a single shot on target in the entire 90 minutes.
A delighted Shaw, who started at centre-back again in the derby, reflected on the victory in his post-match interview.
“We’re very happy, I think we deserved to win. In the first half, we had a lot of chances and on another day, we take them,” Shaw told MUTV. “Extremely proud of the team and everyone out on the field today, they gave everything.
“Especially the ones that came on and influenced the game, it’s a massive help when they’re ready and can make an impact.”
Shaw was then asked specifically about stopping Haaland and he lauded the effort of the team to keep him quiet. “It’s not just about me and Raphael [Varane], it’s about the whole team. We defended so, so well,” he added.
“It was a great game to be involved in. The most important thing was the three points, no matter who the players we are up against are, we always aim for three points and keep climbing the table. We did that today and I’m very happy.
“As I said, we created a lot of chances and we knew we would get more. It’s all about belief and after Fernandes’ goal, we felt the fans even more. They pushed us on, we got the second goal and it was an amazing atmosphere.”
Source: Manchester Evening News
