Shaw vs Cancelo: Debate For The Best Full-back Settled Once And For All

Manchester United achieved the unthinkable in excellent fashion against their local rivals. The Red Devils stamped authority upon the blue side of Manchester with a statement 0-2 victory.

Bruno Fernandes secured the dynamic early on with a well-found penalty. It took Luke Shaw an excellent second half attempt to go for it all and frustrate Pep Guardiola’s impeccable record.

With this win, Shaw too has made a much-debated statement seem settled as his stature as the finest full-back in the Premier League this campaign was announced.

That accolade, veiled in subjective criticism, has been a long time coming with the 25-year-old truly coming into his own this campaign and channelling plenty of creative energy.

Luke Shaw’s game by numbers vs. Manchester City:

88% pass accuracy
9 ball recoveries
3 crosses
2 tackles
2 shots
2 fouls
1 block
1 goal

Another big performance. 💪 pic.twitter.com/KbKaH004ak

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 7, 2021

 

This goal was created by the man right from Dean Henderson’s well-found long-pass and was carried further, requiring only Marcus Rashford’s assist and Ederson Moraes’s relative ineptitude to taste the back of the net.

However, given that Cancelo is the player most touted for the best full-back tag, this game, pegging both worthies on the same pitch, proved quite a bit.

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Perhaps the most telling moment stamping Shaw’s one-up over the Portuguese flank man came in the build-up to the goal itself. The former Southampton full-back seemingly whooshed pass Cancelo in creating a goal of some sublimity.

It will be interesting to see just how much more Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is able to muster in a season that had begun to be written off in favour of Manchester City.

While the overall fixture may have an negligible effect in the long-haul of the title run, these bragging rights will certainly be Shaw’s to treasure.