Mourinho takes aim at Luke Shaw’s defensive frailties after Man Utd beat Chelsea 4-0

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes newcomer Harry Maguire will be forced to cover for Luke Shaw “a lot” throughout the season due to the left-back’s positional deficiencies.

The Red Devils kicked off their Premier League campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win against Chelsea on Sunday but Shaw was often caught out of position as he advanced up the field.

Mourinho’s relationship with Shaw: Five things to know…

• Mourinho and Shaw clashed on numerous occasions at Man Utd.
• Shaw was often subject to public criticism from Mourinho.
• But Shaw became a key part of Mourinho’s system before he was sacked.
• Shaw clinched the club’s Player of the Year award last campaign.
• But Mourinho still believes Shaw’s poor positional sense will be a problem for Maguire.

Mourinho and Shaw had a somewhat fractious relationship during the Portuguese’s spell as United boss, with the former publicly outing his left-back at times, leading to a backlash from some fans and pundits alike.

And that pattern once again unravelled during Mourinho’s appearance as a pundit in the Sky Sports studio at Old Trafford, as he suggested Maguire will be forced to manoeuvre out wide to provide cover for Shaw.

“Maguire is attracted to the outside to cover for Luke [Shaw],” Mourinho said.

“He [Maguire] will learn over the season he needs to do that a lot [cover for Shaw].”

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“We defended well in a shape”

Despite Mourinho’s comments, current Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was quick to offer a glowing account of his side’s defensive shape as the Red Devils inflicted their biggest ever Premier League victory over Chelsea.

He said: “The second half was outstanding. We defended well in a shape and counter-attacked and were more composed on the ball.

“First half, we hung in there and we were a bit lucky to go in at half-time 1-0 ahead.

“The fitter you are, the more you can do. The boys are working hard and this is just the start.

“The second half will give us loads of belief and confidence in the way we settled down and passed the ball around.”