Man Utd's 'lazy' star targeted again as he's told he could cost them at Liverpool

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Manchester United could be caught out by Luke Shaw 's "laziness" as former Red Devil Paul Parker takes aim at the defender ahead of Sunday's clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Ruben Amorim 's side go into the contest off the back of a win whilst the Reds had endured three straight losses prior to the international break. However wins on the red side of Merseyside have been tough to come by in recent years. Last term, despite the odds being stacked against them, United secured a 2-2 draw and missed a late chance to claim a shock three points.

Stifling Liverpool's attack will be key but Parker fears for Shaw when he's up against Mo Salah , who has a stellar record against the Manchester outfit. Parker has been critical of the ex-Southampton player and believes he could struggle to contain the Egyptian superstar with a particular dig at the player's work rate.

He told The Devils’ Advocate podcast : "You look at the teams they have played against and they can’t handle pace and energy levels."

"If Liverpool play in front of them, it will be great but I don’t think they will. I think they will try and turn them around, especially on the left side with Luke Shaw . Salah is going to be looking to run in behind with and without the ball, knowing the laziness of Luke Shaw, who he will be pulling at his shirt all the time and little things like that."

Shaw has been the subject of individual criticism in the past. Roy Keane was another ex-player to take aim, the Irishman said he'd "thrown the towel in" during the Manchester derby. The defender himself has acknowledged that some of the critique has been fair.

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United's lacklustre start to the season has been partly blamed on Amorim's refusal to change his style of play and specifically his formation. The ex-Sporting Lisbon boss has continually claimed his philosophy is not the reason for the poor results with Parker claiming the players have to shoulder the blame.

He said: "They haven’t got the discipline, trustworthy people to play for what the manager wants to do. You can moan and moan about his system, but at the end of the day, they want to use this word elite about these players of today, which is absolutely rubbish to be perfectly honest, but if they were that elite, they would be clever enough to go bang and do it."

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