Luke Shaw rued Manchester United's wastefulness in front of goal following their 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Thursday evening.
Alexis Mac Allister struck a dramatic 99th-minute penalty to seal all three points for the Seagulls after Shaw appeared to handle the ball inside the penalty area. Referee Andre Marriner was advised to go over to the pitchside monitor and he deemed that the England defender had made contact with the ball with his hand, handing Mac Allister the chance to seal a precious victory for the home side.
Although United had been under the cosh in the latter stages of the contest, they had created a collection of good chances to punish Brighton at the other end, particularly in the first half. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes were all guilty of spurning good opportunities.
READ MORE: Luke Shaw accepts full responsibility for Brighton defeat
And it was their lack of a killer instinct in front of goal that, in the eyes of Shaw, cost United so dearly, with the left-back highlighting the Reds' ongoing failure to put opposing teams to the sword when chances present themselves.
"I know the problem and we know the problem," Shaw told Sky Sports. "The problem is that we don't score.
"In the first half we had three or four big chances that we should be scoring [from] and I think that has happened a lot of times this season. But then again, when you look at the other side, it comes down to my mistake at the end.
"But I think with the chances that we had we have to be scoring goals and the game would have been completely different if we had taken the chances that we did make."
United have struggled to score goals throughout the season, highlighted by their current goal difference of just +9. Erik ten Hag's side have scored just 49 goals in the Premier League this season - the lowest tally of any side currently camped inside the top seven.
Shaw, addressing why United are struggling to score goals, continued: "I don't know. Maybe we just aren't clinical enough. I don't really know what else to say.
"What I did was the total opposite and I lost us a point in the end. But when you look at the first half we could have been 3-0 up."
Defeat on the south coast for United will have given Liverpool confidence that they can make a late push for a top-four finish. Following their 1-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday night they are now just four points behind the Reds and they could reduce that gap to just one point with a win over Brentford on Saturday.
"I don't think it changes anything; it is still in our hands," added Shaw, addressing the top-four battle. "We have to kick ourselves from the position we were in because we were obviously very comfortable.
"But now there is a real chase as teams around us are picking up points. But we still have one game in hand and it is still in our hands."
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