What Luke Shaw did after Brighton defeat proved his Manchester United worth

Luke Shaw was Manchester United's best player when they beat Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final. He was their best player for 95 minutes again last night as well. Not that he'll care.

Despite another impressive display as a makeshift centre-back in which he hardly put a foot wrong, his performance will always be remembered for his trailing hand.

It would have been understandable had Shaw hid in his shell at full-time and left the Amex Stadium with his head hanging low, covered by a hood that shielded him from the unavoidable scrutiny. Instead, he can still hold his head high, facing up to his decisive influence on the result.

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"I lost us a point in the end," he confessed at full-time. He was right that he, quite literally, handed Brighton the three points, but he was not the only United player who made costly mistakes on another frustrating evening.

Shaw showed huge character to stand up after the match and own his error, but many of his teammates will serve their punishment with a social media silence until the West Ham match instead.

"I know the problem and we know the problem," Shaw added. "The problem is that we don't score." He is right again.

His error was so costly because United had been so wasteful beforehand, spurring an abundance of opportunities to score that could have drastically altered the outcome of the match.

It has been a tedious, repetitive theme throughout the season. It's one that has no immediate short-term solution and needs addressing through the arrival of an elite striker this summer.

Until then, United are going to have to dig deep. Rather than apologising after matches, they will have to do their talking on