Manchester United beat Real Sociedad but failed in their main ambition.
United traveled to Spain with a mission: to finish at the top of the group. To do this, the club needs to win by a two-goal margin.
The 1-0 win was simply not enough and as such the Red Devils are now in a position where they are likely to face higher caliber opposition in the knockout stage.
United won thanks to a first-half goal from Alejandro Garnacho.
The Argentine did well when Cristiano Ronaldo put him in his way in the 17th minute. The winger brilliantly finished off a powerful shot deep into the Sociedad goal.
While Garnacho will get the lion’s share of the praise tonight, Luke Shaw is also a worthy contender for some plaudits.
The left-back had another big game, as he got the nod in the high-stakes match ahead of Tyrell Malacia, who was on the bench.
Shaw recorded 88 touches on the ball and made 43 passes in the 90 minutes he was on the pitch tonight.
The Englishman was also stellar defensively.
He won five of the six ground duels.
The player also made three interceptions in what was a solid defensive performance from him against the Spanish opposition.
Shaw also stood out in the future. The 27-year-old completed 100% of his dribbles.
He successfully pinged a cross and won a single aerial duel.
Luke Shaw’s match in numbers against Real Sociedad:
88 touches 43 passes completed 5/6 ground duels won 3 interceptions 2/2 dribbles completed 1 center completed 1 aerial duel won
Good progress tonight. ???? pic.twitter.com/2ODa89LtA8
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 3, 2022
Shaw certainly shows game by game why he’s keeping Malacia off the team right now and why Ten Hag can’t leave him.
Hopefully, it continues in a similar fashion and helps the team move forward.
