Luke Shaw caused a social media stir on Thursday morning by liking a post about Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial after Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford. Rashford and Martial watched most of United’s sixth win in eight Premier League games from the bench, having been dropped by Erik ten Hag.
Shaw played the first half at left-back and the second as Harry Maguire’s centre-back partner as Scott McTominay’s brace downed the visitors.
Ten Hag raised eyebrows with his team selection, making four changes from last Saturday’s dismal 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United.
His biggest call was dropping Rashford to the bench for Antony, as Alejandro Garnacho started his eighth consecutive game on the left.
Rasmus Hojlund also returned for Martial, while Victor Lindelof and Sofyan Amrabat came in for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kobbie Mainoo.
United produced one of their best performances of the season against an albeit poor Chelsea side, leaving Rashford’s status in further doubt.
The Red Devils No 10 has scored just one open-play goal this season. His penalty in November’s 3-0 win at Everton was just his second overall.
And Shaw seemingly threw shade at Rashford and Martial on X (formerly Twitter) after United’s triumph over Chelsea.
Eagle-eyed supporters noticed the 28-year-old had liked a post from fan account @centredevils relaying quotes from Patrice Evra.
The United icon was at Old Trafford as a pundit for Amazon, and after full-time, questioned whether the door was closing for Rashford and Martial to return to the side.
He said: “I think it will be tough for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial to come back into the starting 11.”
That post appeared in the ‘Liked’ section of Shaw’s profile, suggesting the England international agreed with Evra’s stance.
However, he quickly covered his tracks, unliking the post before replying to another fan account, @utdreport, to insist it was a mistake.
“Come on don’t be silly, obviously not intentional [face palm emoji], Shaw insisted.
Shaw is rarely active on X, last posting in September, when he sent a love heart emoji to David de Gea in response to the Spaniard’s farewell to United supporters.
His previous post before that was in May, indicating his eagerness to clear the air after a supposed error from him or those who control his account while scrolling down the feed.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
