Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has slammed his team, saying they "lack consistency" and that's "not acceptable" amid their struggles this season.
Despite their recent poor run, Manchester United ended Liverpool's 100 per cent win record at Anfield this season on Sunday, when they held the Reds to a 0-0 draw in the Premier League.
Shaw, who played a full 90 minutes in the game in Merseyside, said the Red Devils need to find a solution for their inconsistency and should build on their performance against Liverpool.
"That has to be the foundation now. Every game, whether it is at Anfield away or [at Old Trafford], it always has to be the same and I think that is where we have been lacking I think is the consistency," Shaw said in an interview.
Giving more perspective, the English left-back said that Manchester United had a great game against Chelsea but then they let themselves down by losing 3-0 to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
"It's not acceptable, we can't accept that and it's something that needs to be addressed and changed very quickly because we can't keep doing this," said Shaw.
Following the goalless draw, which saw Liverpool slip to second place in the 2023-24 Premier League table, Reds captain Virgil van Dijk angrily confronted Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Van Dijk accused the Cameroon glovesman, who made eight saves on Sunday, of using time-wasting tactics. The Dutch centre-back came face to face with Onana in the tunnel and said: "Because of you we only played a half-hour game." In response, Onana simply smiled back at Van Dijk and walked away.
Manchester United, meanwhile, were fortunate that Shaw's injury was not serious when he went down in their 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich last week. During the game at Old Trafford, which saw the hosts out of the Champions League, Manchester United suffered two massive injury setbacks, losing defenders Harry Maguire and Shaw.
Maguire, who was named the Premier League Player of the Month for November, sustained a groin problem in the first half of the match and was replaced in defence by Jonny Evans. Left-back Shaw picked up a hamstring strain in the closing moments of the opening 45 minutes, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka replacing him at half-time.
It has been reported that Manchester United's escalating injury concerns have provoked the club to undergo a comprehensive internal review of the club's outdated medical department by the head of sports medicine. This development is believed to have come amid Sir Jim Ratcliffe's impending acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in the club.
Manchester United's current injury list includes Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Lisandro Martínez, Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof and Amad Diallo.
Erik ten Hag and Co are next in action on Saturday when they travel to East London to take on West Ham in the Premier League.
