Manchester United legend Roy Keane ripped into Luke Shaw as the Red Devils suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to cross-town rivals Manchester City.
City put United to the sword
United endured a disastrous start to the derby at the Etihad, as they went a goal down after just 18 minutes of action. Phil Foden headed in a ball from Jeremy Doku, who easily skipped past Luke Shaw before making a delivery inside the box.
Erling Haaland made it 2-0 shortly after the break, latching onto a deft Doku pass before placing the ball well past Altay Bayindir.
Haaland completed the rout in the 68th minute when he raced clear from his own half and finished confidently.
The defeat leaves United languishing in 14th, with more questions than answers in what is fast becoming a dismal start to the season.
OptaJoe points out that United’s four points from their opening four fixtures is their poorest start to a campaign since 1992/1993.
4 – With just four points from four games (W1 D1 L2), this is Manchester United’s poorest start to a league season since 1992-93, when they also had four points from their opening four matches under Alex Ferguson. Misery. pic.twitter.com/zW5QH4u2jy
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 14, 2025
With concerns mounting, Keane singled out Shaw, accusing the defender of effectively giving up during the derby.
Keane slams Shaw
The legendary United captain said on Sky Sports about City’s opener, “It’s a very good goal from Man City, Doku and Foden, the timing is perfect. But United’s defending, the two midfielders are too square and Luke Shaw just gives up.”
“It’s a nice bit of skill but Shaw’s an England international player, hundreds of games under his belt and he doesn’t even get his body position right.”
“It’s far too easy, it’s like he’s thrown the towel in. We know people can run off the back off Bruno, that’s been going on for years, but my goodness…”
“Even before that, the two midfielders are too square, one pass takes them out. It’s far too easy. It’s as if United, they’ve got all the numbers back and everyone’s going: ‘Who’s going to make a tackle?’ Shaw just throws the towel in there.”
At full-time, Keane doubled down on his criticism of Shaw, claiming the defender has been a liability for United for years.
“Shaw is an international footballer, so for him to get caught out like that…I think he has been getting away with murder for years at United. Always injured and never quite fit. We make excuses and then he gets a few games under his belt and he’s making decisions like he doesn’t even want to tackle anyone.”
United are back in action on Saturday when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
