Luke Shaw on the ball against Brighton

Shaw: Why the Carabao Cup is so valuable to United

Tuesday 29 September 2020 08:00

Luke Shaw has explained the importance of the Carabao Cup to Manchester United, ahead of Wednesday night’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Reds return to the south coast for a fourth-round tie with the Seagulls, knowing a victory would confirm our spot in the last eight of the competition.

While the Carabao Cup is one of four tournaments United will play in this season, the defender explained why it's a significant one for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad.
“Of course it’s a competition we want to win, but I think it gives the manager that opportunity to give chances to other players that are on the bench and on the fringe, who are training very hard to get chances,” Luke told MUTV.

“I think games like this are perfect for them. It’s good that we’ve got a very strong squad with players who are ready to play and are ready to take their chance. I’m sure the players are looking forward to that on Wednesday.

“Matches are coming thick and fast and, like I say, they’re competitions that we want to be strong in, we want to be winning and be challenging in. But it’s also a chance for players to get game time and sharpness.”
Our no.23 also knows the Carabao Cup could offer some first-team opportunities to several of the younger members of Ole’s squad.

“I think that’s something those younger players need to smell and know with this manager that they’re going to get a chance,” said Luke. 

“They’re always working hard, always pushing themselves and I think they know they’ll get a chance if they keep working. Hopefully we can see some more youngsters on Wednesday and they can show what they can do.”
While Luke wasn’t involved in last week’s 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Luton Town, the left-back did play 90 minutes in Saturday’s incredible victory over Brighton in the Premier League.

With United set to travel to The Amex Stadium for the second time in just five days, Luke was asked for his thoughts on last weekend’s dramatic 3-2 win.

“Ups and downs really,” he opined. “It was game that was very important points-wise, although obviously we as players and the manager know we can perform much better. The most important thing was the three points and we got that in the end.

“It felt great to win the game right at the end, we haven’t done that in a while. It’s a good three points for us, but we need to be performing better.
Highlights: Brighton 2 United 3 Video

Highlights: Brighton 2 United 3

Got two minutes? Watch the short highlights of our crazy 3-2 away win over Brighton in September 2020...

“Brighton are a really good team, they played really good football and had a lot of chances,” he continued. 

“But we dug deep, we stuck together and we kept going to the end. Even when it went to 2-2, it could have been easier for us to be frustrated and disappointed and not try to push for another chance. We got it and, thankfully, we got the VAR replay and we got the win.”

The new season is here. Our 2020/21 home, away and third kits are available now from United Direct.

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